Southampton FC academy defender signs first professional contract

The youngster has been at the club since the age of eight and signed a scholarship deal earlier this summer.

At just 17 years old, the centre-back moved up to the U18 team last season, making 15 appearances, including coming off the bench at Villa Park in the FA Youth Cup.

Dobson-Ventura also has experience of playing in Premier League 2, having come on as a substitute in the final 25 minutes of the away match against Nottingham Forest in March.

This campaign has seen the defender break into the Under-18 squad, which he sees as the next step in his progression to first-team football at Southampton.

“It’s a great achievement,” said the youngster. “I feel like it’s what you’re working towards ever since you were a little lad.

“So it just feels amazing to sit down and sign my first-ever professional contract.

“Last season helped me build confidence, especially as an under-16 playing up.

“Now I can do it as an under-18 and help the boys who haven’t done it before. I’m really leading the process of going through the [FA Youth] Cup.

“The aims this season are to smash it out with the 18s, get performances and results, and hopefully push on with under-21s football and go from there.”

Academy Director Andy Goldie added his delight for Dobson-Ventura and detailed the next steps in store for Saints’ latest young professional.

“It’s a proud moment for Tommy, his family and all the Academy staff who have played a small part in his journey so far, and we are pleased to see another young talent commit his future to the club.

“During my short time at the club, it’s been evident that Tommy is a real leader within the under-18s group and someone who demands a lot from himself and others around him.

“His challenge now is to maintain those levels to enable him to continue to build on the successes he has earned so far.”

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Led by Russell Martin, the Saints currently find themselves languishing in mid-table after last weekend’s defeat at Middlesbrough made it four successive games without a win.

With pressure mounting on the 37-year-old in the early stages, he will be aiming to find the answers to Southampton’s leaky defence, with the arrivals of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Mason Holgate unable to prevent the South Coast outfit from shipping the most amount of goals in the division, with 19 conceded from the opening eight fixtures.

Relegation down from the Premier League last campaign has created its fair share of trials and tribulations for the former Norwich City defender, with the Saints signing off 18 departures from the St Mary’s Stadium, with assets such as Romeo Lavia, James Ward-Prowse, Tino Livramento and Nathan Tella drawing big-money fees.

With such massive holes left from those exits, Southampton have struggled to adapt to the challenge that the Championship brings, with the quality of the second tier arguably at its best with heavyweight clubs arriving from the top flight and League One this year.

Despite an unexpected start to the new season, Southampton are one club in the division that are expected to be fighting towards the top end due to the resources and financial superiority at their disposal as a result of parachute payments.

The Saints have gathered €183.34 million from player sales whereas just €21.55 million has been used to improve the playing squad, with a lot of money used on current player contracts due to the extraordinary financial rises in the modern game.

Here at Football League World, we are going to take a look at Southampton’s annual wage bill for the playing squad and who is the highest earner at the club, with all figures an estimate from Capology.

For the 2023/24 season, Southampton are estimated to be spending £43,394,000 per year on player wages, which equates to £771,808 a week.

An average of £28,585 is spent on each player per week which leads to an average of £1,486,444 annually.

The majority of members on the Southampton wage list are on five-figure salaries, with the likes of Moussa Djenepo (£65,000 per week), Stuart Armstrong (£65,000 per week), Jan Bednarek (£60,000 per week) and Adam Armstrong (£55,000 per week) commanding sizeable figures.

Summer signings Ryan Frazer (£42,000 per week), Flynn Downes (£25,000 per week) and Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£7,500 per week) also take up a significant portion of their financial expenditure.

The joint-highest paid players at the club are Joe Aribo and summer signing Mason Holgate, who both earn an estimated £70,000 a week.

Aribo, a Nigerian international, arrived to the South Coast from Rangers back in July 2022 but has failed to establish himself as a first-team starter under Ralph Hassenhuttl, Nathan Jones, Ruben Selles and now Russell Martin.

The 27-year-old has only made 35 appearances for the club, registering just two goals, with his lack of contributions on the pitch unable to warrant the high wage he currently is on.

Meanwhile, Holgate moved to the St Mary’s Stadium for the season from Everton back in August, with Martin’s outfit utilising the Premier League loan market to the best of their ability.

The 26-year-old will be hoping he can feature regularly over the course of their Championship journey and help propel the side back towards the top end of the division.