'He Is A Gifted Player' - Southampton Defender Olufunwa Hails Watford's Nigerian Eden Hazard

Southampton, who have one of the best academies in England, would be disappointed that they went out of the FA Youth Cup after they were beaten 2-1 by Watford in a fourth round tie at Wingate and Finchley on Thursday evening.

As exclusively reported by this website, Nigeria Football Federation target Jayden Bennetts, whose playing style has drawn comparisons with Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard was named in the starting line-up, less than three days after he returned to the United Kingdom after training with the Flying Eagles.

The Saints Under-18s boss Paul Hardyman named promising fullback Oludare Olufunwa in the starting line-up.

Speaking after the game, a disappointed Olufunwa told allnigeriasoccer.com : ''I played against Bennetts, he is a gifted player technically and can also tackle well.

''I think we had a good contest against each other yesterday and both tested each other defensively and offensively.

''We are a very good team but struggled to match Watford's work rate. ''

Watford U18s manager also reserved special praise for Bennetts and told the club's official website : ''I thought Jayden Bennetts was magnificent.

''I thought Emmanuel, who came in for the star of the last round, was very effective, but all night the front two were excellent.''

Bennetts came close to opening the scoring in the first half but his long-range strike hit the top of the bar.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel