Japanese winger Diasuke Matsui is in outstanding early season form with Ligue 1 high-flyers Le Mans.

Matsui has emerged as Le Mans' major creative force in the early weeks of the new French season.

The midfielder could easily have been playing in Italy this year, after rejecting previous offers from Roma and Lazio: "I chose Le Mans because it is a club which I knew about from my time at Grenoble. And then also, I do not like Italian football, which has too much defensive play."