Theo Walcott has expressed that he always dreamt of a return to the Saint Mary’s when he left to pursue new dreams in the Premier League.

???? "I want to work as hard as I can and help this team develop."@theowalcott on his #SaintsFC return:

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) October 6, 2020

The 32-year old was signed by the Gunners in 2006 for an initial fee of £ 5m which could rise to £12 million, depending on club and international appearances before signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Everton in 2018 after falling out at the Emirates.

Walcott returned home on deadline day, having signed a season loan from the Toffees.

“I always felt like Southampton has been with me,” he said.

How it started how it's going pic.twitter.com/0SE0Xu8AGp

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) October 5, 2020

“Even when I went to Arsenal and Everton, I always felt like I always wanted Southampton to do well.

“So much happened in such a short time and I just felt like ‘I want to come back one day’, and now it’s a dream come true.

“Something feels right about it. Every time I look down and see the badge it just feels right. It does feel like home, but I want to make sure I really push on and help this team.

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“I’m not here to make up the numbers at all. I’m here to play and perform and work hard.

“I feel like if you’re working as hard as you can on the training field and people see me working hard, then you can inspire them [the younger players] to compete as well – competition is very important in a team.

“I always competed when I moved to Arsenal and then to Everton as well, it’s just the way it is in football and that side of me is going to be very important to the squad, to hopefully push people on to get them to the next level as well."

Southampton have six points on the league table after losing two consecutive games to Palace and Spurs. A win against Burnley and West Brom puts them 11th ahead of City and United who have a game in hand.

Walcott after a talk with Ralph Hasenhüttl accepted to sign for his former club and use his Premier League experience to help continue the club’s development.

“I managed to speak to the manager and the way that they press and do a lot of things off the ball, I feel like that’s going to fit into my style pretty well.

“It will take time to get into it for the first few training sessions, but I’m a willing learner and I learn quite quickly, so that will help the manager I’m sure.

“I’ve been in the game a long time so know how to adapt pretty quickly. I feel like I want do as best as I can for this football club and we’ll see where that takes us.”