Yan Valery has committed his long-term future to Saints after signing a new contract that keeps him at the club until 2023.

The 20-year-old French sensation, who has earned rave reviews for his performances under Ralph Hasenhuttl, only had just over a year left to run on his previous deal.

Valery’s performances, which convinced Hasenhuttl to loan out experienced international Cedric Soares, had attracted the attentions of a string of major clubs who were alerted to his talent and were on stand-by to pounce if he didn’t pen a new deal at St Mary’s.

Hasenhuttl said: “Yan’s development has been fantastic in the last few months. I think he is a player who embodies precisely the philosophy of Southampton, as he is young and forward-thinking.

“He has been given trust by us, and in return he has shown exactly what we want to see, which is a brave player who believes in himself and is willing to work on his deficits to get better.

“Already you can see Yan has improved defensively, and his goals against teams like Manchester United and Tottenham are big signs of how much his confidence has been growing.

“Players like Yan are the future of Southampton Football Club, not just the present, so I am very pleased for him and for us that he has signed this new contract.”

Valery joined Saints in 2015 from Stade Rennes aged 16 and impressed for the under-23s to the extent he was handed a contract extension in February 2018. That deal took him through until next summer.

He wasn’t really on the first team radar until Mark Hughes gave him a surprise debut in the League Cup tie at Leicester in which Saints were eventually beaten on penalties.

Valery made his Premier League bow in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United at St Mary’s a few days later which proved to be Hughes’ last game in charge.

New manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was hugely impressed by Valery’s potential and has made him a regular feature of the team with the Frenchman scoring his first two goals for the club in the last two games.

Hasenhuttl’s faith in Valery even extended to allowing Cedric to join Inter Milan on loan for the rest of this season, even though it left the youngster as the only recognised right back at the club at a time when they are fighting for survival.

Valery added: "It's a big step. It proves the club believe in me, and I am really proud and happy to sign again for this club.

“It is the club that gave me my chance. This manager has given me all of his trust, so I am just happy to sign again and I can't wait now to give everything I've got to help the club stay in the Premier League and to keep working hard and improve my game and be a better player than I am now.”