Ross Wilson has lifted the lid on how Yan Valery progressed through the ranks and settled at Southampton after his move from Rennes as a teenager.
The 20-year-old is now a regular part of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s matchday squads following his emergence last season.
Valery started for Southampton in their recent 4-1 defeat to Chelsea and contributed with an assist for Danny Ings after a mazy run down the right-hand side.
Wilson, speaking with Back Onside, detailed the process by which Valery was nurtured after his switch from France. He said:
Yan Valery, a young French player who we signed three years ago as a part of that strategy, is playing as a first-team regular at 19 years of age.
I’ve got no doubt that our scouting and recruitment around him was excellent when he was 16. Our coaching and development pathway has been excellent for the last three years to make him ready.
The people who have worked around that to make sure that he settled into this area, that he could learn English, that he had no fear, no worries, and moving from Rennes in France over here to Southampton; everything was looked after so well for him.
There are so many people in this club who deserve credit for his pathway to our first team in recent times, but none more so than the people who have looked after him on the pitch.
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Valery has proven to be a very good example of how well players from abroad can develop in Saints’ academy.
He has had a difficult season, but at just 20, has a massive future at the club, particularly with a youth-centric manager like Hasenhuttl at the helm.
Southampton have a number of promising French youngsters in their academy ranks, and those who are plying their trade in the Under-18 and Under-23 sides will be determined to replicate Valery’s rise to the first-team squad.
