Having been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, Zion Suzuki has moved to the Premier League with Aston Villa instead. It marks the next step on the 23-year-old Japanese goalkeeper's rise to the game's summit after a stellar World Cup.
The eye-catching Suzuki is a phenomenon - as his old goalkeeper coach Dennis Rudel explained when speaking to him last year. "It is like his body is just made of muscles," he told Your Site. "And I have never seen in my life a goalkeeper who can jump higher."
Rudel recalled his physical tests being "off the charts" during the player's first season in Europe with Belgian club Sint-Truiden. But Suzuki was identified as a goalkeeper of the future long before that, even when he was warming the bench for Urawa Red Diamonds.
Frans Hoek, the world-famous goalkeeping coach, had been tasked with helping Japan achieve their goal of winning the World Cup by 2050 by revamping their goalkeeper coaching. "We made a pathway for the talented goal players," Hoek told Your Site.
The phrase 'goal players' is part of Hoek's insistence that there is more to the job than keeping goal. And he spotted Suzuki. "I saw him in a camp and said, 'this guy has to go to Europe as soon as possible. It does not matter what league it is. He has to play'."
From Sint-Truiden, Suzuki has gone on to spend two seasons in Serie A with Parma before proving to be among the standout goalkeepers at the World Cup. He garnered praise for his efforts against Netherlands before impressing even in defeat to Brazil.
One particular stop from Vinicius Junior low to his left was among the saves of the tournament but it has become something of a trademark. For someone with Suzuki's immense frame, he is very capable of extending those long arms low across the ground.
There was a double save against Roma in his debut season with Parma, while Rudel's favourite was one at Club Brugge. "It is those low saves because he is so dynamic and so quick to get down. He has unbelievable reflexes. For me, that is his biggest strength."
Something special in those fingertips? "With those low power saves, his arms are so strong. Sometimes when goalkeepers go down fast and get their fingers to the ball, it still goes backwards. That never happens to him. He has crazy power in his hands."
There is a story that illustrates this perfectly. Rudel was setting up a drill during one of their first sessions together. "I said to him, 'okay, now show me how far you can throw'. I looked away and then saw this ball flying 20 metres over the halfway line," he recalled.
"I turned around and said, 'I told you to throw it not kick it'. He just smiled back at me and replied, 'but I did throw it'. I told him to show me again because I could not believe that someone had that much power in their body that they could throw the ball that far."
It hints at the combination of skills that makes Suzuki so unusual. As well as those low saves, he ranks second in Serie A for high claims last season. In the previous campaign, only Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia claimed more crosses in Europe's top leagues.
Suzuki was second in Serie A for successful long passes last season but also ranked highly for sweeping up behind the defence and saving shots. The responsibilities might change a little upon leaving Parma but Rudel believes Suzuki's temperament is an asset too.
Despite describing him as "really aggressive because he has massive physical strength - he is so powerful, so dynamic" on the pitch, he is a very different person away from it. "He is a really quiet guy, a really calm character. That is him off the pitch," added Rudel.
There have been difficult moments to overcome along the way. Errors in the 2023 Asian Cup, when he was still just 21, were followed by vile racist abuse. Now, Suzuki is a national hero and his status is only going to rise with a move to the Premier League.
Asked if he could reach the top, Rudel replied: "One hundred per cent. That is another of his strengths. He went from Japan to Belgium and then Belgium to Italy. Those are big adaptations but he did it really quickly. That is what separates the really good ones."
Suzuki has a big task if he is to replace an Aston Villa legend in Emiliano Martinez. But this is a move that takes him a step closer to fulfilling the potential that Rudel and Hoek identified many years ago. Villa have their goalkeeper of the future.
