This under the radar Southampton attacker will play a key role next season

Tonda Eckert has a lot of exciting attackers at his disposal heading into the brand-new Championship season at Southampton.

Indeed, at a quick glance, the German has Lewis Dobbin to hand, who has already lived up to his extravagant £9m billing this off-season with goals aplenty, with the likes of Finn Azaz and Leo Scienza also available for selection, who set the second-tier alight last campaign during their debut South Coast seasons.

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Cyle Larin is ready to be the Saints' leading man up top, as well, after a red-hot loan spell, with Eckert not ruling out the possibility of Nick Oyekunle playing a role in his attacking lineups, either, as a "hungry" youngster - as the German labelled him - after his lively pre-season displays.

There is one more individual who hasn't been mentioned here who could be vital for the gruelling season ahead, as well, in Kuryu Matsuki, who has impressed in pre-season, and showed off flashes of his brilliance last campaign.

Matsuki continues to slip under the radar

With Saints fans constantly waxing lyrical about the likes of Dobbin this pre-season as a flashy new signing, Matsuki has slipped into the background.

The ex-FC Tokyo attacker has stood out in these friendly runouts in his own right, though, as he assisted Dobbin's winner against SC Preußen Münster, as Eckert and Co. beat their 3. Liga opponents 2-1.

With Saints-based writer Christian Lovegrove going out of his way to note that the attacking trio of Matsuki, Dobbin, and Scienza looked "very promising" out in Germany, it cannot be ruled out that this is the attacking lineup he fields against Watford on the second-tier opening day.

After all, last season, Matsuki proved that he has what it takes to be a success in such a gruelling league like the Championship, with four goals and one assist collected, despite only starting 12 of his 22 second-tier appearances.

So, he isn't just a revelation this pre-season.

Rather, he will be a figure Eckert will know he can depend upon, when opposition legs are tiring, with the 33-year-old ready to utilise his full squad to ensure Southampton are back in the promotion spots, after their horrible near-miss last campaign.

Eckert will need to utilise his full squad to seal promotion

Matsuki's selflessness to know that he won't be a guaranteed starter, yet he is still willing to bust a gut when shoved into the action, should not be undervalued.

All the best Championship promotion-winning teams over the years have had depth in abundance when the going gets tough in the intense tussle near the top of the league, with Victor Torp sticking out from Frank Lampard's title-winning Coventry City side in this regard.

Torp only started 25 league games last campaign, but chipped in with a lethal ten goals and seven assists.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto is another illuminating example, with Matsuki's fellow Japanese compatriot also playing an understated role in Premier League football being sealed for the rampant Sky Blues, by amassing an impressive seven strikes from 29 starts.

Matsuki will have no issue in waiting for his moment to shine from the sidelines, with players such as the lively 23-year-old becoming more and more integral as the 46-game marathon chugs along, when fatigue kicks in, and the games become nail-bitingly tense.

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