Harrison Reed could not hide his delight after Ronald Koeman handed him his first Premier League start on Saturday.
The England U20s midfielder played the full 90 minutes in Southampton's 3-0 victory against Everton, and the highly-rated youngster said it was the realisation of a dream for him.
"It meant everything," Reed told the club’s official YouTube channel after the game.
"That’s what I’ve been striving for all along.
Fact file
- Born: 27 January 1995
- Place of birth: Worthing, West Sussex
- Position: Midfielder
- England appearances: U19s (3), U20s (6)
"I’ve been patient on the bench watching games and thinking about how I can influence them so I tried to implement that in my performance.
"I’m absolutely buzzing and over the moon with the win and with the boys’ performance. A 3-0 win in front of our home fans was really good."
Reed, who has represented England at both U19 and U20 levels, is a combative yet creative midfield operator but said he was fully focused on following the coaching staff's orders as he made his Premier League bow.
"I tried to pick up the second balls, fight for the team and fight for myself, too," he added.
"When we win the second balls we can control the game more, and I’m really pleased with that.
"Playing against players like Ross Barkley [was a great experience], an England international who is very experienced in the Premier League now, who uses his body well.
"I’m not the tallest as you can see – so I had to be clever and try not to get too close to him, then when I had the ball I had to try and win some fouls.
"I rushed into a few tackles as I got a bit excited at times, but I learnt from that. Sammy Lee spoke with me at half time and said 'don’t make stupid fouls' so I had that in mind and I’m really pleased."
The 19-year-old partnered Steven Davis and England Under-21 star James Ward-Prowse in the centre of midfield, and received widespread praise for his impressive display – not least from his manager Ronald Koeman.
“He was outstanding”
Ronald Koeman on Harrison Reed after full debut
"He was outstanding," said the Dutchman.
"It’s always important with a young one in your team that he needs to be comfortable in the position he plays.
"He played in his best position, in front of the three centre-halves.
"He was playing against [Samuel] Eto’o some of the time but he always had a good feeling with the rest of the midfield and did a lot of pressing and introduced a lot of energy."