Kuryu Matsuki


Kuryu Matsuki is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Southampton.
IG kuryu.matsuki27

Club career

Early career

Born in Muroran, Hokkaido, Matsuki followed in his older brother's footsteps by joining local side Muroran Osawa FC.
Matsuki trained with French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais in 2021. 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.

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. 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.
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.

Southampton

On 30 July 2024, Matsuki joined Premier League club Southampton on a four-year contract; he was subsequently sent on loan to Turkish side Göztepe for the 2024–25 season. 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. On 10 November 2024, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory against Konyaspor.
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. He scored his first goal for the club on 26 August in a 3–0 away victory against Norwich City in the EFL Cup.

International career

Matsuki was called up to the Japan U-20 squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
On 4 April 2024, Matsuki was called up to the Japan U23 squad for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

Honours

Japan U23
Individual