Southampton have completed the signing of Manchester City youngster Shea Charles for a fee believed to be in the region of £15m.
The 19-year-old has put pen to paper on a four-year contract at St Mary's and becomes Russell Martin's second signing of the summer window after the arrival of defender Ryan Manning on Tuesday.
"I'm buzzing. The place looks great, all the players that I've seen so far have welcomed me nicely, so I can't wait to get started," Charles told Southampton's official website.
"I just feel like the way the manager's going to play will really suit me, and obviously some of the players that I know (from City) have done very well here last season in the Premier League, so there's no reason why I can't come in here and do similar things.
"I've spoken to them a little bit and they've praised the place and obviously the style of play as well."
Shea is a Saint 😇
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) July 12, 2023
Read the full story as Shea Charles joins the club from #ManCity on a four-year contract:
Charles added: "[Martin] called me the other night, explaining that it will be good for me with the possession-based football that he looks to play, and I just can't wait. He said I'll almost be used to his style of play, which is a positive thing obviously.
"He sees me as more like a defensive midfielder. Obviously I can play in other positions as well, but I prefer that position, so that's where I like to play.
"I feel like I read the game really well, which can obviously help my teammates as well with tactical stuff, and I've got a good range of passing – I can hit diagonals and short passes.
"I feel like the main thing is promotion for this club, because we belong in the Premier League. I can't wait to start pre-season and get into the Championship games."
Martin continued: "Shea is a very talented, intelligent and mature young player with great potential to develop his game with us.
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— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) July 12, 2023
"He has been well schooled at Manchester City, coming through an elite Academy all the way to the first team. We've watched him closely and we're confident he's got the right attributes to help us in the way we're going to play."
Charles began his career with Man City's Under-9s before working his way through the club's youth system and becoming the captain of the Under-23s team.
The eight-cap Northern Ireland international successfully led the Citizens youth side to their third successive Premier League 2 titles last season, starting 26 matches, before making his senior debut under Pep Guardiola in the final game of the 2022-23 campaign against Brentford in May.
Charles, who can operate as a centre-back or defensive midfielder, is the latest Man City youngster to swap the Etihad Stadium for St Mary's after Gavin Bazunu, Samuel Edozie, Juan Larios and Romeo Lavia, the latter of whom has been heavily linked with a summer exit, though.
Southampton's newest recruit could make his debut when the Saints travel to Hillsborough for their first game back in the Championship against Sheffield Wednesday on August 4.
Oliver Thomas
