With his ginger hair, short stocky build and tenacity in central midfield, it did not take long for Southampton's Harrison Reed to draw comparisons to Paul Scholes.

'I think that's more about my hair,' he jokes, rubbing his cropped head, but when Reed has been throwing on an England shirt to turn out for England Under 20s at the Toulon Tournament, the resemblance has been uncanny.

Through hard work and a solid resolve, the 20-year-old has forced his way into the England youth setup and at the south coast club he joined as a child.

Harrison Reed, pictured in Toulon, has had a very production season for club and country

The 20-year-old shows off his ball skills to Sportsmail at England's Under 20 training base in Toulon

Reed, pictured juggling with the ball in his England training kit, played 10 times for Southampton this season

'I like the way Paul Scholes played the game, especially in the early stages of his career, getting into the box and scoring goals, but that's a big comparison,' he says.

'The role I've been playing at Southampton this year has been more defensive. Keeping the opposition players locked out. Maybe if I get to play in a more attacking I can do what Scholes did.

'I feel more comfortable starting attacks from deeper. Rather than being pushed up high and getting into pockets of space.

The England Under 20 midfielder does a trick or two as Sportsmail get exclusive access to the youngster

Reed in action on his Southampton debut against Barnsley in August 2013

The tenacious midfielder (left) made his Premier League debut against Manchester City in December 2013

'I see myself getting on the ball and playing balls, rather than receiving it with my back to goal higher up the pitch.

'I'm in the early stages of my career, I can adapt to that but in this moment in time I'm enjoying playing in front of the back four.'

Reed was handed his first-team debut by Mauricio Pochettino, but it is Ronald Koeman who gave him a first Premier League start in December when he effectively marshalled Gareth Barry and Ross Barkley in a 3-0 win against Everton.

The victory was much needed, on the back of five defeats, but Ronald Koeman's compliments about his performance afterwards suggest perhaps he does not see him as Scholes' successor just yet.

Reed (right) impressed on his first Premier League start against Everton in December 2014

The 20-year-old in action for Southampton (left) against Leicester and for England Under 20s in March (right)

'He's not the best technical player but he showed an unbelievable spirit and good character,' the Southampton manager said.

Reed, however, did not let it rile him. 'I wasn't upset,' he says. 'I saw the comment at the time. I see myself as quite a technical player, on the ball, in training I can do most things.

'I did wonder what he meant. But to be fair, it's his opinion. Maybe I haven't shown him enough in training.

'On the day I needed to provide energy for the team to pick them up from the defeats and I felt I'd done that.

'If I haven't shown technical ability in the games I'll be looking to do that more in games and in training.'

'I new it was a massive game to get us back on track. Koeman spoke to me and said be disciplined around Barkley and Samuel Eto'o.

Saints team-mate Shane Long has nicknamed Reed Ray Donovan (above) due to his problem solving nature

Reed concedes he hasn't developed as quickly as Calum Chambers (left) and Luke Shaw (right) have done

'At the time I thought, 'Christ this is going to be a job.' But it gave me the confidence to kick on.'

Afterwards team-mate Shane Long revealed he gave Reed the nickname Ray Donovan, the go-to problem-solver in an American TV series, by his team-mates because he mops up in midfield.

That mature performance was the coming-of-age for a player who had to watch on as players he signed scholarship terms alongside were moving on for multi-million pound deals and becoming household Premier League names.

'Maybe I didn't progress as quickly as I would've liked,' he admits. 'The likes of Calum Chambers, James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw all pushed up early and kept kicking on. It took me a bit of time.

'I said to myself I wasn't performing to the ability to be pushed on. It took time. I worked hard with the coaches and in the gym to get quicker and stronger, to use my body more as I'm lacking height.'