Saints have beaten off competition from a string of top clubs to sign top Trinidad midfielder Kenwyne Jones...
News Source: Saints FC
Rangers, Tottenham, West Ham and Panathanaikos are all believed to have been chasing the young talent who has impressed on trial here during the past week.
He has held his own training with the first-team and tests show he may well be the fastest member of the squad.
Chairman Rupert Lowe said: "He is a tremendous athlete and the coaching staff believe they can turn him into a very good footballer.
"He has done well on trial so we have got him signed up quickly because a lot of other clubs wanted him.
"We have paid a fee to his club W Connection and we hope we have got ourselves a very good player. He is certainly not short on confidence!"
Jones has two full international caps but Saints are confident they will secure a work permit because of new regulations regarding the Commonwealth countries.
These will enable him to get a two-year student visa which will entitle him to work while he is here.
By the end of that stint, Saints are confident he will have played in the 75 per cent of full internationals to make a full work permit pretty much a formality.
Jones becomes Southampton's first player from Trinidad but follows fellow countrymen Dwight Yorke and Shaka Hislop into the Premiership.
It is a relatively cheap gamble for a player of great potential and with proven athleticism.
Original Story: Published April 26, 2004
