Southampton's ambitious plans to qualify for Europe persuaded Nathaniel Clyne to move to St Mary's.
Adkins hopes to push to 'next level' after signing full-back
Southampton's ambitious plans to qualify for Europe persuaded Nathaniel Clyne to move to St Mary's, while an independent tribunal could yet be required to pay compensation to former club Crystal Palace.
The England Under 21 right-back has joined the newly-promoted Premier League club on a four-year contract after his previous deal at Palace expired, although, due to his age, Saints are still required to pay a fee.
Discussions are ongoing between the two clubs regarding compensation, and the case could go to a tribunal, but Clyne, 21, has revealed the aspirations of manager Nigel Adkins were what convinced him to sign for Southampton.
"I'm overwhelmed, really," Clyne told Southampton's
official website on his first full day with the club at their pre-season training camp in France.
"As soon as I heard that Southampton were in for me, I was happy and I knew that this was the place where I could try to improve my football, further my career and get a chance to play in the Premier League.
"It's a club with a lot of ambition. The gaffer told me that they would want to be pushing for European football.
Behind the scenes
"We've got good players here - a young bunch of good, talented players who are destined for the top. So I don't see why we can't do it."
Having completed the signing, Adkins now hopes Clyne can develop into an established top-flight player at Southampton.
"We're delighted that we can finally announce that we've brought Nathaniel Clyne into the group to help us kick onto the next level," said Adkins.
"There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes all summer and, with [head of recruitment] Paul Mitchell and [executive chairman] Nicola Cortese, we work very hard behind the scenes to make things happen.
"For the last three years, Nathaniel has been a very attack-minded full-back who bombs on. He's got pace and he's a good one-on-one defender.
"He got into the Championship Team of the Year last year, and for such a young age he has had a lot of first-team football in the Championship.
"All being well, we can push him onto the next level now."
