Kuryu Matsuki
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.jpg) Matsuki with FC Tokyo in 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Kuryu Matsuki[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 30 April 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Southampton | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 27 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | Muroran Osawa FC | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Aomori Yamada Junior High School | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Aomori Yamada High School | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | FC Tokyo | 71 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Southampton | 20 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | → Göztepe (loan) | 28 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Japan U15 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Japan U16 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Japan U17 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Japan U20 | 8 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Japan U23 | 12 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:28, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 05:46, 16 October 2024 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Kuryu Matsuki (松木 玖生, Matsuki Kuryū; born 30 April 2003) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Southampton.
Early career
Born in Muroran, Hokkaido, Matsuki followed in his older brother's footsteps by joining local side Muroran Osawa FC.[3]
Matsuki trained with French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais in 2021.[4] Following this trial, he returned to Japan to lift the 2021 All Japan High School Soccer Tournament for Aomori Yamada High School, scoring in both the semi-final and final.[5]
FC Tokyo
Initially set to move to Europe to pursue a professional career, it was announced that Matsuki would sign for J1 League side FC Tokyo ahead of the 2022 season.[6][7] Matsuki stated that a major influence on his decision to stay in Japan was current FC Tokyo player Yuto Nagatomo, who also started his career with Tokyo before moving to Europe.[8]
In November 2023, Matsuki was named AFC Youth Player of the Year following an impressive season for FC Tokyo as well as captaining the national U-20 team.[9][10]
Southampton
On 30 July 2024, Matsuki joined Premier League club Southampton on a four-year contract;[11] he was subsequently sent on loan to Turkish side Göztepe for the 2024–25 season.[11][12] Matsuki made his first appearance for Göztepe on 23 September 2024 in a 1–1 draw with Alanyaspor after he replaced Isaac Solet in the 79th minute.[13] On 10 November 2024, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory against Konyaspor.[14]
On 12 August 2025, Matsuki made his debut for Southampton in a 1–0 away victory against Northampton Town in the EFL Cup after he replaced Damion Downs in the 63rd minute.[15][16] He scored his first goal for the club on 26 August in a 3–0 away victory against Norwich City in the EFL Cup.[17][18] On 24 February 2026, Matsuki scored his first league goals for the club in a 5–0 victory against Queens Park Rangers.[19]
International career
Matsuki was called up to the Japan U-20 squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[20]
On 4 April 2024, Matsuki was called up to the Japan U23 squad for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[21]
