One more academy exit and Southampton's midfield cupboard looks bare

Another one out of the door, then. Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh has joined Northampton Town permanently on a three-year deal, with the fee kept quiet.

Southampton's own tribute was a kind one, calling him a well respected and talented member of the academy before wishing him well. Lovely. Now count the central midfielders Tonda Eckert can pick on Saturday.

Cork City produced him. He is 21. A breakout season over there got Southampton interested in the January of 2024, and two brief senior outings later he belongs to somebody else.

What Northampton think they have got

Chris Hogg did not undersell him. "A highly technical player" was the Northampton boss's verdict. He believes O'Brien-Whitmarsh can operate "either as a six or a ten in midfield".

There was more. O'Brien-Whitmarsh "plays on the front foot, always looking to play forward", Hogg said, and he admitted there was "other interest in him" before the Cobblers got the deal done.

So a League Two club spent the money, saw off rivals and handed three years to a player Southampton decided they could spare. He is their ninth signing of the summer.

The player did his own homework too, watching Northampton play on Saturday before committing.

Why the cupboard looks thin

Forty-three under-21 appearances, though. The debut came as a late substitute against Cardiff City in the League Cup, the second outing in the Leicester cup tie back in February.

Saints Marching was there for that cameo and clocked him cutting in from the left to hit a shot with plenty of power and not much direction. Eight minutes on the pitch is not much to judge anybody on.

His loan at Accrington Stanley brought three goals in 13 games. That would not be enough to help Southampton sustain a promotion challenge. It was enough for Hogg to move fast.

Now look at who is left. Shea Charles went to Fulham in a package worth up to £30m, so Flynn Downes anchors things with Caspar Jander and Cameron Bragg for company.

Bragg was the one bright spot in Hertfordshire on Sunday, slipping Cyle Larin in with a reverse pass most senior midfielders would not have spotted. Moses Sesay is still on the books and still waiting on senior minutes.

That is a short list for a 46-game season with a four-point deduction still shackled around the club's ankles.

None of this makes selling academy players wrong.

Loan deals are probably better. Nicholas Oyekunle is at Leyton Orient for the year. Romeo Akachukwu came back from Colchester United with 15 League Two games behind him and scored against them in the cup this month, which is exactly how the pathway is supposed to work.

Saints Marching has argued that the kids are the way through this Spygate mess. Fair enough. But Joe O'Brien Whitmarsh won't be one of them.