Southampton defender Luke Shaw has signed a new long-term deal at the club amid interest from Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.

The 17-year-old made his first professional appearance earlier this term and has gone on to make 12 starts this season, flourishing in a Saints side fighting against relegation in their first season back in the top flight since 2005.

Shaw becomes the latest Saints youngster, after James Ward-Prowse, to commit their long-term future to the club and the England Under-17 international admits he was convinced to stay at St Mary's by discussions with chairman Nicola Cortese.

Luke Shaw
Shaw has quelled speculation over his future by signing a long-term deal.

"I have spoken with the Chairman about a long-term plan for me at the Club," Shaw revealed upon signing a long-term extension.

"To put an end to all the speculation, I will be committing my future to Southampton. I'm not going anywhere.

"I think Southampton is the place to be for young kids like me. I'm playing in the Premier League for the first team and that is all anyone wants to be doing, so I just want to carry on.

"I have been at Southampton since a very young age so I've been here a long time now. I think they are happy with me here, and this club is great for young players like us.

"If you look back over the years, Adam [Lallana] has come through the youth system and now he is the captain of the first team, and Prowsey [Ward-Prowse] has just signed a five-year deal - and that is what I want to be doing.

"We have a lot of trust in our youth and there are more players coming through next year, so hopefully we will just carry on going."

The full back joined the south-coast club aged eight, and is the latest in a long line of players to progress through the ranks with Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain among those to have graduated from the Southampton academy.

Shaw's previous deal was due to expire in 2015, and following an impressive start to his professional career, the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea were understood to be interested in recruiting the latest player off the Saints conveyor belt.

Despite Keiran Guibs having committed to a long-term deal at The Emirates Stadium, the wavering form of Andre Santos, who has made just six league appearances this season could force manager Arsene Wenger to reinforce the left-back area.

Meanwhile, Chelsea appear set to release Ashley Cole at the end of the season, with the two parties unable to agree a new deal for England's most capped left-back.

Amid reports of Arsenal and Chelsea's interest in Shaw, Saints boss Nigel Adkins rubbished the speculation earlier this month.

"I've not read any of the newspapers," Adkins said. "I think Luke gets linked every week with Arsenal, doesn't he?

"Luke is under contract, he is playing football for us in the Premier League, which is important.

"We are not looking to let him go anywhere if anyone wants to come in for any of our players, by all means speak to the chairman. He does the deals and all the best with that."