RALPH Hasenhuttl has heaped praise on Saints youngster Thierry Small and refused to put a timescale on potential first team involvement, adding: “You never know, sometimes it goes quick.” The 17-year-old left-back refused a professional contract at Everton in the summer in order to sign a deal with Saints, despite making an FA Cup debut for Carlo Ancelotti, in search of a clearer pathway to senior football. And the performances have caught Hasenhuttl’s eye.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “I was very pleased with the whole performance of the under-23s, they seemed also to have found a turnaround now with Nathan Tella, Will Smallbone, Thierry Small playing for them. Thierry I must say, very enjoyable to watch this lad, feels absolutely good here at this club. He has some really good potential, physically, mentally he is a fantastic guy I think. Very positive, enjoys everything he does. Very shiny person I must say, still a lot of things to learn but I like to work with this player. It’s the way I was always working in my managerial career that we have young, good players with positive energy that can improve, we can make them better. He feels good in the team and the team loves him also.”
Lyanco, 24, had to wait for an EFL Cup tie to get his first Saints chance – could it be that Small has to wait for a potential FA Cup third round clash against lower league opposition for his, just like how he made his debut for Toffees in January this year?
RALPH Hasenhuttl said: “Maybe, yeah, you never know, in some moments it goes quick. Especially this season we have, in this position, many more options and this makes it harder for him. But he is a long-term project like all of the young players we have, and I see good potential, I’m very happy to have him.”
Saints’ B team were victorious 4-0 over also-eliminated Crawley Town in their last EFL Trophy game of the season on Tuesday evening, with Small scoring expertly from a narrowing angle as well as assisting.
