The forgotten Southampton star who could be playing in the Champions League shortly | OneFootball

Dynel Simeu, a former Southampton academy defender who never made a senior appearance, is now with The New Saints and could feature in Champions League qualifying against Sabah FK this week.

According to Sainstmarching.com, he played 22 times for Southampton’s under-21s, then took loans at Morecambe, Tranmere Rovers and Carlisle United before being released in 2024. Josh Sims’ recent move to AFC Totton underlines how varied these pathways can be.

Simeu headed to Albania to join KF Teuta, a year-long stint that preceded a return to Oldham Athletic. He impressed at Boundary Park, scoring two goals in 13 league games, with manager Micky Mellon saying the club really believed in him.

Plenty of ex-Southampton players have thrived in Europe, most notably Dusan Tadic, who reached the 2019 Champions League semi-finals with Ajax and scored nine goals. For Simeu, the prospect is more unexpected given he never broke through on the South Coast.

The New Saints face a two-leg first qualifying round tie against Sabah FK of Azerbaijan, described as Azerbaijan Premier League champions. A long run looks unlikely, but selection this week would be surreal for the defender. His brief Albanian experience may help away from home and back in Wales.

Source: Sainstmarching.com