Southampton boss Ralph Hassenhuttl has urged the club’s academy players to learn from Yan Valery after he signed a new deal. The defender signed a new contract with the club on Thursday, with the fans’ favourite now tied down until the end of the 2023 season.
Valery is one of many youngsters that have thrived under Hassenhuttl’s stewardship and the former RB Leipzig now wants others to learn from him.
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The club’s Under-23 side have impressed in Premier League 2 and Hassenhuttl is hoping Valery is the first of many players to sign new deals. He told the club’s official website: “I think it’s an important sign also for our academy that we are looking on these guys and we are giving them a chance to play.
“It’s not possible to bring immediately five or six young players into the first XI, but always one or two get the chance to play and we have to have a look at them, that’s important.
“Sometimes it can be they also play again in the Under-23s but if they make a big step in the first XI then it’s a good sign for them. and I think that gives you the motivation to work harder than before.”
