Lewis Payne signs new contract

The 18-year-old right-back, who has been at the club since the age of nine, has put pen to paper on his second deal after signing his first professional contract in November 2021.

Payne has enjoyed a successful season so far, making his first team debut in the Carabao Cup against Cambridge United and registering an assist for Ché Adams’s opening goal.

He’s been involved in multiple first team training sessions as well as accompanying the squad on their mid-season training camp in Spain.

After committing his future to Saints once more, the regular B team captain said:

“It’s a good feeling, obviously it’s my second contract now so it’s not a place to rest. It doesn’t make me want to stop, my head is on to the next thing, the next challenge.

“Going through the academy in every age group I wasn’t always one of the better players, but now I’m starting to feel more important to the team which is good and I want to be pushing on.

“My debut came out of nowhere and that was unbelievable so that gave me a lot of confidence, and then being around the first team and getting used to the players they all helped me a lot.

“I’m going to want to start pushing up into the first team and start playing Men’s football however that is, so that’s my aim.”

Academy Director, Matt Hale, further added:

“Lewis is one of those who has been involved with the first team and made his debut this season so we’re pleased to secure him for a bit longer and he deserves a new contract.

“We like to bring our players through that have been here for a long time and Lewis is a really good example of that.

“He’s a tenacious player, he’s physical, he likes that part of the game - it’s his strengths - some of his performances this season have been exceptional in the B team so we’re looking forward to him getting around the first team even more now and trying to break in.”