SAINTS midfielder Callum Slattery has penned a two-year contract extension, keeping him on the south coast until 2022.

The 20-year-old made his senior debut for the club back in January during the 2-2 draw with Derby in the FA Cup.

Academy product Slattery was handed his Premier League bow a week later when he came on as a substitute in the away win at Leicester.

Speaking to the club's website, Slattery said: “It's a club I've been at since I was eight years old so it's always nice to put pen to paper and extend my stay.

“It's somewhere that I would call home and the club means a lot to me. It's a club that I want to play at for a long time.

“Once you get a few dips in the first-team and begin learning off the players and manager, all you want is more.”

Having been at Saints since the age of eight, Slattery feels like he is finally getting the chance to prove his worth in the first team.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl last season showed a commitment to youth and has already said that this year won’t be any different.

The Austrian handed debuts to Marcus Barnes, Tyreke Johnson, Kayne Ramsay and Slattery.

As well as that, Hasenhuttl has delivered what he said he was going to do: sign more youngsters.

Che Adams and Moussa Djenepo have already been added to the Saints squad and are at an age where they will be desperate to prove themselves in the Premier League.

Slattery is currently in China with Hasenhuttl where they will play in front of majority shareholder Gao Jisheng tomorrow afternoon.

And, for the midfielder, any chance to impress the Saints manager is one he wants to grab with both hands.

He added: “The manager has bought back the club's philosophy; young players getting a chance to make a statement and show that they're capable of playing at that level.

“Chances don't come around often so when they do you have to grab them with both hands and that’s what I intend to do.”