RYO Miyaichi is on the fast track to becoming a Reebok favourite, according to Owen Coyle.

After snapping up the jet-heeled teenager on loan from Arsenal and watching him tear through Preston North End in a behind-closed-doors friendly in midweek, the Wanderers boss is now preparing to unleash the winger on local rivals Wigan Athletic today.

But onlookers in the derby should be warned – blink and you could miss him.

Miyaichi, who hailed from the land of the famous Bullet Train boasts a 100m time of just 10.6 seconds and, claim some club insiders, could become the fastest player ever to have worn the famous white shirt.

To put that time into perspective, it stood as the official world record between 1912 and 1921 after US sprinter Donald Lippincott became the first-ever IAAF standard bearer at the Olympic Games in Stockholm.

Coyle knows he will have to nurture the 19-year-old in the same way he did with great success with another Emirates prospect, Jack Wilshere, two years ago. But the Wanderers boss is convinced he has a match winner on his hands.

“He has amazing ability,” said the Scot. “Without tipping opponents off, he really is lightning quick.

“He has great feet and I think he’s only going to get better. I’d love to have signed him permanently but Arsene Wenger obviously didn’t want that to happen. When he gets his chance, which he definitely will, then he will show everyone what he can do.”

Miyaichi’s story is an interesting one. It began at Chükyö High School, where he was spotted by a scout for Nagoya Grampus Eight, formerly managed by Arsene Wenger.

Having already had a failed trial at FC Cologne, Miyaichi was scheduled to try out with Ajax before Wenger rushed through a contract at the Emirates and immediately loaned him out to Feyenoord to help secure a work permit.

Such was his impact in Rotterdam, where Dutch fans labelled him “Ryoldinho” because of his tricks on the ball, he was moved into the first-team reckoning by Wenger on his return, featuring against Wanderers in the Carling Cup earlier this season.

And while his chances for the Gunners have been limited, Coyle believes he will head back to North London a better player in the summer after his experience with the Whites.

“The proof will be in the pudding,” the manager said. “When he gets his chance, then you'll see what's in his locker but his ambition has got to be to go back and try to get in the first team.

“He's still such a young lad and when you look at him, he is slight and still has that physical development to come.

“But he has a work ethic similar to Chung-Yong Lee, I love his temperament, and you always see him with a smile on his face, which I like.

“When Jack turned up here a couple of years ago he had to toughen up, because the skipper (Kevin Davies) clattered into him on the first day of training. To be fair, Jack picked himself up then laid it on the skipper, which was brilliant.

“Ryo will stand toe to toe. He might be slight but he's wiry and has that bit if steel.

“He's hungry to do well and I just love that appetite and enthusiasm in the game.”

Wanderers fans have been lucky enough to see some real speed machines down the years, although some have seen their time with the club go just as quickly as their work on the pitch.

Roger Walker flew down the touchlines of Burnden Park for a couple of years in the mid-80s, while Johann Smith - son of a Jamaican sprinter - fleeted around the edges of Sam Allardyce’s squad before moving out on loan to Stockport County, Darlington and Carlisle United.

Another of Big Sam’s recruits - Jermaine Johnson - was regarded as a jet-heeled wide man in his two-season stay at the Reebok before moving on to Oldham Athletic. He currently plays under Gary Megson at Sheffield Wednesday.

Sweden international Christan Wilhelmsson arrived with a massive reputation in the summer of 2007 but jetted off almost as quickly as the man who signed him, Sammy Lee.

And like Miyaichi, Wladimir Weiss arrived in the January transfer window from Manchester City to pitch into a relegation scrap, and while the Slovakia international didn’t get the amount of football he was looking for, the brief glimpses we did get proved he had some explosive pace.