Southampton sign forward Brereton Diaz, midfielder Matsuki

Southampton have signed Chile forward Ben Brereton Diaz from Villarreal and Japanese midfielder Kuryu Matsuki from FC Tokyo on four-year contracts, the newly-promoted Premier League club announced on Tuesday.

The South Coast side did not disclose the financial details of either of the deals, but British media reported that 25-year-old Brereton Diaz's move from LaLiga club Villarreal is worth around seven million pounds ($8.98 million).

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Brereton Diaz qualified to represent Chile through his mother and has been capped 33 times. A product of Nottingham Forest's academy, he joined Villarreal last year before moving on loan to Sheffield United in January.

"He (Brereton Diaz) is a strong, powerful runner and a confident finisher with a good goalscoring record, including last season's spell in the Premier League in which he adapted to the level extremely quickly." Southampton manager Russell Martin said in a statement.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Matsuki will spend the 2024-25 season on loan at Turkish Super Lig club Goztepe.

Matsuki has represented Japan at various youth levels and helped them win the 2024 AFC Under-23 Asian Cup. He was also named the AFC Youth Player of the Year last year.

Southampton will begin their Premier League campaign away against Newcastle United on Aug. 17.

($1 = 0.7792 pounds)