
With all the transfer activity happening around St Mary's this summer, it can be easy to forget about some of the younger players who have made the brave step of going out on loan to better themselves as a footballer.
Therefore, to bring light to those trying to shine lower down the footballing pyramid, VAVEL will be conducting a weekly round-up to monitor the Southampton player's progress, whether this be good or bad.
The Saints currently have seven players out on loan and here is how they are getting on:
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Dom Ballard (Blackpool)
Starting off with 19-year-old Dom Ballard, it is safe to say that he was involved in one of the games of the weekend.
He started at left-wing during Blackpool's enthralling 4-4 draw away to Cambridge United, with the teenager getting just over an hour.
During this time, Ballard managed to get his first goal for the club to put Blackpool 4-1 up, but the Tangerines completely collapsed and conceded three, coming away with just a draw.
However, it was good for the youngster to get some game time, as well as finding the back of the net.
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Cameron Bragg (Crawley Town)
Cameron Bragg has had a busy week, with the 19-year-old playing twice in just five days.
On Tuesday, the central midfielder started during Crawley's win over Brighton under-21's in the Football League Trophy, also scoring the first penalty as they beat the Seagulls 4-3 in the shootout.
However, the teenager had to settle for a place on the bench on Saturday as Crawley lost 1-0 away to Wigan Athletic, with the player receiving 20 minutes at the end and performing rather well.
After beating their under-21's on Tuesday, Crawley's next game is against the Brighton first team in the second round of the Carabao Cup midweek. The couldn't do it again, could they?
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Zach Awe (Accrington Stanley)
The centre-back has had a tricky start to life as a regular, with Accrington Stanley losing this weekend 3-1 away to Newport County - making it four losses on the bounce.
This has been Awe's fourth consecutive game in defence, with his side conceding 13 during this time - a terrible record for the 20-year-old to have upon arrival.
He played the 90 minutes, won all five of his aerial duels, but did misplace 13 of his 34 passes. Awe will be hoping for a better outing against Colchester United next Saturday.
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Nico Lawrence (MK Dons)
Unfortunately, Lawrence has still not been able to feature since the opening day after suffering an injury against Bradford City that required a knee operation.
The centre-back is expected to be sidelined for around two months.
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Lewis Payne (Cheltenham Town)
Lewis Payne is another one that didn't feature this weekend due to injury, however his is much less serious.
The right-back was taken off against Grimsby Town last weekend, with it being confirmed he has suffered a hamstring injury and could be sidelined for a few more weeks.
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Ollie Wright (Yeovil Town)
Ollie Wright did feature for Yeovil this week, twice in fact, with the goalkeeper playing the full 90 minutes during both games.
He started between the sticks during their 3-2 win over Ebbsfleet on Tuesday, but he didn't have much much to do as he failed to make a save.
However, he managed three against Gateshead on Saturday during their 3-1 loss, performing decently on a difficult afternoon. Overall, it is good to see the young keeper getting regular game time.
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Kuryu Matsuki (Goztepe)
Perhaps the most exciting player on this list, Karyu Matsuki made his debut on Friday.
After signing for Southampton from J League club FC Tokyo this summer, the Saints loaned out the 21-year-old to their sister club Goztepe in Turkey.
In gameweek three of the Süper Lig season, Matsuki finally made his debut for the club during a 1-1 draw with Alanyaspor, but it came in the form of a 11-minute cameo.
The Japanese international looked lively but struggled to make any sort of impact in such a short period of time, with the midfielder likely to get more minutes next weekend.
As for the recently departed Mateus Liz, he started between the sticks and captained the club just a day after re-joining.

