Jake Hesketh was born in Stockport but his family moved to Whiteley in Hampshire when he was just six months old and he joined the Saints Academy before he turned ten. Having been named the 2013-14 “Scholar of the Season” Jake signed his first professional contract and the following season played his part (the Daily Mail website called him “a number 10 in the purest form”) in the U23 team that won the Premier League Cup.

The same season Ronald Koeman introduced him to his first team as a substiture against Manchester United (see right) and then, five days later, gave him his full debut away to Burnley. The world was at his feet…….. or so it seemed.

But then came a stalling of his career, with little progress and no first team games during 2015-16, before, soon after the commencement of the next season being handed a start in a League Cup-tie against Palace in which he scored with a deft finish from 16 yards. The following week he was given another start in a Europa Cup match in Israel, but in a raucous stadium he was substituted after only 35 minutes for reasons that were never made completely clear. And that was it as far as his Southampton career was concerned. He made four loan moves to lower League clubs but when his contract expired in the close season of 2021 he brought his 16-year association with the Saints to an end.