Matt Le Tissier reveals question Leo Scienza asked him before big Southampton switch | OneFootball

Leo Scienza asked Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier if he could wear his famous number seven ahead of the new campaign

Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier has revealed that Leo Scienza asked for his permission to wear the number seven shirt ahead of this season.

The Brazilian wideman lit up the Championship in his debut campaign at St Mary's last season, following his reported £9 million move from German side Heidenheim, wearing the rarely-seen number 13 as an outfielder.

Scienza ended the campaign with seven goals and 10 assists in Championship action, the majority of which came under Tonda Eckert following the departure of Will Still. He also played a key role in their run to the FA Cup semi-finals, putting in a Man of the Match display in their win over Arsenal to get to Wembley.

Heading into the new season, Southampton would have had some worry over losing him, given his clear top-flight qualities, but he's stayed for a second year on the South Coast and has adopted quite an important number ahead of it.

Matt Le Tissier pulls back the curtain on a conversation between himself and Leo Scienza in pre-season

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Former Southampton striker and current advisor to the board at St Mary's, Matt Le Tissier, spent his entire professional career with the Saints. Over a decade of that career was spent wearing number seven.

It's a number which carries a lot of weight at the club — Rickie Lambert also wore seven during his time at Southampton — and it became available this summer after Joe Aribo was released.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, Le Tissier spoke about how Scienza approached him to ask for his permission ahead of switching to the number seven shirt this season.

"I’ve gotten to know Leo over the last few months," he said. "He came to me in the summer and asked me if he could have the shirt.

"It was nice because it wasn’t my decision at the end of the day, but it was quite respectful for him to do that, and I was delighted that he wanted that number seven shirt.

"I think it comes with a fair bit of responsibility at this club. You see some of the number sevens we’ve had. He was brave enough to want to take that shirt on and try to do it justice.

"We met up and had dinner. I’ve gotten to know him pretty well since he’s been here, and we’ve exchanged regular text messages. He’s a really down-to-earth lad who wants to get better and better at football. He’s got a great attitude."

Southampton fans will love that Leo Scienza respects the club's history following Matt Le Tissier's admission

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With Scienza spending his entire career playing for sides in Brazil and Germany before his move to Southampton in 2025, you wouldn't expect the 28-year-old to have such knowledge of the history of the South Coast side.

Therefore, it's a testament to how much of an effort he's made to involve himself in the club's history that he knows how important the number seven shirt is at St Mary's because of the work Le Tissier did while wearing it.

The Saints legend is still around the day-to-day happenings at the club, given his role as advisor to the board, but with that role only being handed to him in April, it implies that Scienza had reached out to him earlier on in his Southampton career.

If Southampton supporters didn't love the Brazilian winger enough, this revelation that he consulted Le Tissier over inheriting a shirt number which has been worn by 11 different players since he left showcases how much he cares about doing the number justice.

Leo Scienza will hope to become the next great Southampton number seven

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While there have been some greats to have worn the number seven at Southampton, such as Le Tissier and Lambert, there have been some duds, too.

As mentioned, Scienza is inheriting the number from Joe Aribo, who is still a free agent after his release this past summer. Before him, Shane Long wore the number for eight years, and while he was a serviceable frontman during his time in the top flight, he's far from a club legend.

The Brazilian heads into the international break with four goal involvements in eight Championship games so far. Like last season, he's also one of the best dribblers in the division, winning the most fouls in the league and completing his dribbles at a 52.2% rate.

If he keeps this up, he'll be sure to replicate, or even better, his 17 goal involvements from his debut campaign, as he continues to prove his Premier League potential at St Mary's.

Both he and his Southampton