Southampton wonderkid Kuryu Matsuki has been given a special mention alongside an ex-Celtic mainstay, and Saints will hope Matsuki strives to carve out a similar reputation at St. Mary's.
With derby fixtures being a rare treat for Southampton fans, tuning into Old Firm matchups offers a welcome source of rivalry drama they hardly get to cherish. Nowadays, Rangers might have the louder backing but Celtic's shared history with the Saints isn't losing weight anytime either.
As per FBref, Virgil Van Dijk, Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama are some of those St. Mary's icons to line up for the green side in Scottish football's biggest rivalry. For them, nothing beats watching the Saints soaring higher in the Premier League slightly similar to Celtic's domestic dominance in Scotland.
How can it happen? When one by one, the Southampton starlets begin reaching a comparable level to that of Celtic's top prospects.
That being said, fans don't have to wait much as a preseason hero who hasn't clocked up a single competitive minute for Southampton has been showered with a glowing praise. One, that makes him sit on the same table as a recent Celtic superstar.
As quoted by the EFL, Japanese football's respected personality Tasuku Okwa echoed an interesting claim: "I think he is probably one of the most famous Japanese players in the EFL to be honest."
Saints will want Matsuki to become their second Japan international
Clearly, Matsuki's training partner Yukinari Sugawara isn't an unknown name for Japan and Southampton, but unlike attack-minded Matsuki, he is a defender. Hence, a good chunk of the 22-year-old's inspiration must come from a player well familiar with finding the back of the net.
Enter The Hoops hero Kyogo Furuhashi, whom Okwa later talked at length too.
Agreed, Matsuki may face a race against time to represent his nation alongside Furuhashi but it will be a brilliant source of motivation for him. Moreover, this will push the former to take crucial scoring lessons from the latter and goes without saying, it would add an extra layer to Southampton's attacking output.
Will Matsuki get inspired by these comments to score in the coming Espanyol friendly, let's hope so.