Matsuki has not played for Saints since a cameo against Watford on August 30, days after scoring a wordlie in a 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Norwich.

He played for the under-21s against AS Monaco earlier this month, but has only made the Championship squad four times since his last appearance.

Eckert hailed Matsuki for raising the standard in training, and has told the 22 year old to be patient, admitting the time is not right for him to play.

“I think that Matsu is excellent. He has so much energy, and he is so professional on the training pitch every single day,” Eckert said.

Yeah, strike that 🤤 pic.twitter.com/ZTED9tlK9Y

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) August 26, 2025

“That’s what he needs to be. He is desperate to play, and he has an outstanding left foot. I had a conversation with him the other day.

“I told him that sometimes the situation isn’t right. He just has to stay patient and keep working. He has honestly been excellent.

“He’s been impactful for us – there are always some players in the limelight and some players who are in the shadows.

“But the way he raises the quality of training sessions at the moment helps us so much for the games that we go into. I really think that he’s been excellent.”

Archer also scored in that win at Norwich, firing into the top corner on the turn to open the scoring and end his eight-month goal drought.

Cam Archer scored when Saints beat Norwich 3-0 in August. (Image: Southampton FC/Matt Watson)

A strike against Watford days later is the last time the 23 year old scored for Saints – and these remain the only goals he has scored in 2025.

Eckert insisted the responsibility of breeding confidence into a talented forward falls on everyone at Staplewood.

“There are always two aspects, there is the human being behind the player, and we as a staff, and everyone at Staplewood, need to create a positive feeling,” he explained.

“I think we have some staff members who are excellent at creating that energy. The second thing is to prepare players for where they might exploit certain spaces.

“I think that Cam, and you’ve seen this in the last two games, when spaces do open up, he has so much power, speed, and quality that he is so dangerous. It is then for us to prepare him for where those spaces might open up.”