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Southampton starlet Will Smallbone on being the latest academy prospect to break into the first-team after dream goal on debut... as he looks to follow in footsteps of Gareth Bale and James Ward-Prowse on south coast

Will Smallbone, the latest graduate of Southampton's famed academy, will not forget 2020 in a hurry.

It has been the year of his dream, goal-scoring full debut for his boyhood club in the FA Cup against Huddersfield and Premier League bow against Aston Villa.

But it will also be remembered for the coronavirus pandemic that has shocked the world.

The Southampton midfielder celebrated with team-mates Oriol Romeu and Michael Obafemi

From a career perspective, that has led to midfielder Smallbone's encouraging early progress being temporarily curtailed and it is totally understandable that he describes that as 'disappointing.