Southampton are now very much daring to dream about an immediate Premier League return, having got the better of Carlos Corberan's West Bromwich Albion 3-1 over two legs to make it to the coveted Championship playoff final.
Leeds United will be their tricky opponents at Wembley at the end of May, but Russell Martin's men won't fear the full-throttle Whites having beat them 2-1 on the final day of the regular season at Elland Road before the lottery of the playoffs even began.
It was a polished team performance from Martin's confident Saints at St. Mary's against the Baggies, with Will Smallbone heroically opening the scoring on the night to set the tone for the rest of the straightforward contest.
Emerging through the youth ranks at the Saints to now become a key first-teamer in midfield, Smallbone has had a breakthrough campaign for the promotion-chasers at the best possible time, with Premier League football now tantalisingly in reach.
Will Smallbone's start at Southampton
Smallbone has had to exercise a lot of patience to get where he is today, having been in and around the Saints ranks since 2016.
It's not as if his numbers were underwhelming either, amassing 13 goals and 13 assists from 98 appearances playing for the U18s and U21s, but he was never able to break the mould and leap into the men's team equation regularly.
Horrific luck when it came to injuries constantly stopped Smallbone in his tracks when he was making notable in-roads, making a number of appearances at the start of the 2020/21 season before a devastating anterior cruciate ligament injury cruelly intervened.
Still, when looking at how key he has been for Martin's men in reaching Wembley, 45 of Smallbone's 69 first-team appearances have amazingly come just this campaign and he has never looked back in the process.
The 24-year-old massively benefitted from the likes of Romeo Lavia and James Ward-Prowse exiting in the summer on major deals, freeing up spaces in the centre of the park for someone to become the next Saints hero in midfield.
He has certainly become that this season, proving himself to be a dependable option to rely on away from just this ferocious hit opening the scoring against West Brom in the decisive playoff second leg.
Smallbone's season in numbers
The Saints academy product has blossomed into becoming the first name on the team sheet week-in-week out for Martin, only missing three league games all season long to fully wriggle free of any injury demons.
Six goals and three assists have come the midfielder's way as a result, which included slotting home a Kyle Walker-Peters pass on the final day to score against Leeds to silence the home crowd.
Stat per 90 mins
Smallbone
Gruev
Passes attempted
66.38
61.08
Pass completion %
87.6%
90%
Progressive passes
6.42
4.36
Progressive carries
1.53
0.56
Progressive passes received
3.51
0.41
Blocks
0.99
0.81
Interceptions
0.90
1.37
Stats by FBRef
The match-up at the end of the month will be completely different, however, with so much riding on the outcome but an intriguing battle could develop between Ilia Gruev and Smallbone on the pitch all the same.
Based on the FBRef numbers in the table above, Smallbone could well his fancy his chances of coming out on top going up against the former Werder Bremen man even in such a pressurised one-off clash.
It hasn't been all smooth sailing for the breakout Southampton number 16 this campaign, however, with extreme online trolling earlier in the season seeing him shut down his social media accounts.
Yet, just a matter of days on from being trolled in the aftermath of his club's exit at the hands of Liverpool in the FA Cup, Smallbone responded unfazed with two assists in a dramatic 4-3 away win at Birmingham City.
It led to Martin emotionally defending his midfield talent after the game, who described the Saints academy graduate turned important first-team figure's performance as "amazing".
Equally praised by his manager for being a "selfless" character right after Southampton booked their place in the playoff final, it's not a shock to see Smallbone's transfer value has increased over the course of his formative campaign consequently.
His value is even higher than that of Flynn Downes now, according to Football Transfers, who has been showered with kind words all season long from Martin as well, with the pair having worked with each other in the past at Swansea City and in the present on the South Coast.
Smallbone's transfer value in 2024
Smallbone's value now stands at a handsome £4.2m, with Southampton reaping the rewards now of persevering with their homegrown star, instead of just chucking him to the scrapheap when he hadn't yet made waves in the men's team.
The Saints will just hope they don't have to part ways with Smallbone anytime soon regardless of his excellent season, able to keep a firm grip on their star who had progressed through the esteemed youth set-up on the South Coast away from the likes of Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale previously departing.
Downes, who has been key alongside Smallbone in a central midfield trio this season, sees his valuation come in at a lesser £3.3m though, all whilst still being the perfect example of Martin's easy-on-the-eye approach as a slick operator.
Minutes played
90
Touches
72
Accurate passes
62/64 (97%)
Key passes
2
Assists
1
Successful dribbles
1/1
Stats by Sofascore
Bossing the possession on the night with 65% of the ball in their favour against West Brom, Downes stylishly controlled proceedings with just two misplaced passes from 64 attempted with one of these passes assisting Adam Armstrong's game-clinching second strike on the night.
Yet, even with Downes coming up trumps again, the West Ham United loanee's value still pales in comparison to that of Smallbone who will want to taste Premier League football now next season to cap off such a blinding campaign.
If that doesn't happen, however, Smallbone wouldn't try and demand a move up to the top-flight knowing that he's a highly valued gem in the Saints camp currently.
It's been a tale of perseverance and patience paying off for the 24-year-old, who was only on loan at Stoke City last season pondering whether his long-term future was going to be at St. Mary's or not.
