Southampton could rue missing out on Faustino Anjorin as it has been revealed that he was at the club early in his youth career.
According to The Independent, Anjorin spent time on trial with both Southampton and Bournemouth before signing terms with Chelsea as a youngster.
The report claims that both clubs had been keeping tabs on him as they considered adding him to their academies before his father moved to London and Chelsea spotted him at a tournament.
Anjorin, 18, has now made two senior appearances for Chelsea this season and is beginning to emerge as a talented prospect in the Premier League. He has played once in the league for the Blues and once in the FA Cup, whilst he has managed five goals and four assists in 11 Premier League 2 matches.
With Anjorin starting to show that he could have potential in the top-flight, Southampton may well regret not doing more to sign him before he joined Chelsea.
Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing and he may not have developed as well as he has without that move to Chelsea. Regardless, if he goes on to be a top player in the professional game the Saints could see him as one who got away.
Southampton do not have an abundance of out-and-out attacking midfielders, with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s system utilising two wide number 10’s, rather than a central attacking midfielder.
Anjorin is a typical number 10, but could have been coached into a wide role by Hasenhuttl if he were at the club, with the Chelsea man possessing great close control and creativity, which could also be used in wide areas.
It will now be interesting to see how Anjorin’s career progress and if he is able to make the first-team at Chelsea. Maybe there could be an opportunity for Southampton to bring him back to St. Mary’s down the line…
