Just days after announcing a host of new academy scholars, Southampton have revealed a new structure set to take shape in the academy.

The Under-23s side will be no longer, instead named the B team in a move the club will hope aids in streamlining emerging talent into the first-team.

In a statement on the club’s official website, Saints said these changes are intended to “create an approach that replicates the first-team” and gives young players the best opportunity to reach the senior team.

Alongside this, the B team will play their Premier League 2 and cup matches at a new base, AFC Totton, in place of Staplewood Campus so as to “provide players with regular experience of a stadium environment”.

Hasenhuttl a key influence

Training will be planned to not clash with first-team sessions in order to allow Ralph Hasenhuttl to oversee the progress of the players and to be actively involved in the sessions himself.

The B team will follow the same training program as the first-team and will play Hasenhuttl’s brand of football, representing the faith the club have in the Austrian and the vision he has for the club’s future.

Director of Football Operations Matt Crocker praised the “really successful” player development that has existed at the club for some time and acknowledge the change in playing style from previous years, and hence the need for change.

He believes it will be beneficial for young players to have “a proper understanding” of the tactics and style of play when going up to the first-team and enable them to transition with greater confidence.   

“When you are 18 or 19 and maybe only one player away from the first-team, it’s really important to have that alignment and clarity of your role,” he said.

Crocker added that these changes will see the B team become “more of a second first-team” and allowing players to be in as professional an environment as possible to prepare them for the jump to senior football.

"Not a gimmick or a name change"

While this could be seen as just a change in name, the details of the change will have a larger impact on the club, and Crocker hopes it will be seen this way.

“What we don’t want this to be seen as is a gimmick or a name change,” he said.

“It’s not about what the team is called, it’s about a move to help the young players be better prepared for playing for our club in the Premier League.”

Data and research will also be invested into the B team, with Crocker providing examples of player mapping and comparisons between youth and senior players to provide the benchmark.

“Say James Ward-Prowse is covering X amount of distance in a game, we can set those parameters for one of our young central midfielders and compare his data directly to Ward-Prowse’s,” he said.

The consistent identity through the club will allow this to be done more accurately and effectively, according to Crocker, providing an insight into how close a youth player is to their first-team rivals.

First-team coaches will go back and forth assisting with the B team whilst fulfilling their main responsibilities in an attempt to maintain the club’s philosophy through the youth ranks.

It is also hoped that, once fans are able to return, the added support at Totton will support the players in feeling like a professional matchday.

Fan support encouraged in PL2

These alterations will see the club eager to hold onto a crop of young players and develop them through the academy rather than sending them out on loan.

Crocker said for the most part players will receive a better education by staying at the club and learning the philosophy, working against first-team data and being overseen by Hasenhuttl and his staff.

He singled out Jake Vokins and Will Smallbone as “great examples,” as their training with the first-team over the last year has allowed them to adapt to the demands of senior football and aid in a smoother transition.

The B team will start their Premier League 2 season away at Arsenal and are involved in the EFL Trophy, facing Stevenage, Northampton and MK Dons in the group stage.