Saints fans will be pleased to hear that Yan Valery has put pen to paper on a new deal with the club tying himself to St Mary's till 2023.

Southampton Football Club is delighted to announce that young full-back Yan Valery has signed a new, long-term contract with the club and that is music to the ears of Saints fans.

The 20-year-old today put pen to paper on a deal that runs until 2023, capping a period of incredible progression over the past few months in which he has become an integral member of Ralph Hasenhüttl’s squad and established himself as a regular in the first-team line-up.

Valery’s performances were highlighted by a stunning first senior goal at Manchester United this month, as well as a crucial equaliser in last weekend’s 2-1 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

His change from U23 player to first team regular under Ralph Hasenhuttl represents another success story from the club’s Academy, just as some where starting to question whether the youth system was lacking in talent good enough to jump to first team contention. Valery has developed rapidly under the guidance of the academy coaches since the club’s scouting team identified and recruited him from French side Rennes in 2015, at the age of 16.

Valery, who has represented France at Under-17s level and was quickly promoted from the Under-18 squad to the Under-23s at Saints following his arrival, made his senior debut in the League Cup tie at Leicester last November, before his first Premier League appearance followed in the 2-2 home draw with Manchester United a few days later.

He has not only remained involved ever since, but has gone on to become Hasenhüttl’s first choice at right-back, with 16 top-flight appearances now under his belt.

This is another good piece of news and another sign that although there has been a gap, there are still good youngsters coming through some a little more ready than others at this stage.

It has been a difficult couple of years at the club, but Valery signing a new deal shows that the club has come through a difficult period and has had to make changes, but so far those changes have all been for the better.

The biggest step though will be securing our place in next season's Premier League and then we can continue the progress made and show that although the club have been a little lax in not promoting itself recently that doesn't mean that the plan isn't there.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters