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New Southampton manager Claude Puel will have been pleased as his men brushed past Eredivisie side PEC Zwolle yesterday afternoon.
New signings Nathan Redmond and Pierre Emile Højbjerg both got on the scoresheet in a 4-0 victory in the Dutch sun, with the former notching two goals.
It was an encouraging game for Southampton fans and Puel. January signing Charlie Austin scored the opener for Saints, while the second half saw a makeshift first XI of youth players comfortable deal with the threat posed by their opponents.
One galling feature of Ronald Koeman's Southampton reign was that he did not appear keen to play Saints' academy stars. With Puel's reputation for playing youngsters at former clubs Monaco, Lille, Nice and Lyon, this is certainly an encouraging sign.