Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money.
Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One.
Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or that player is a good player,” Endo said. “It feels like there is more interest in Japanese players from around the world.”
Currently also in England’s top flight are Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal) and Yukinari Sugawara (Southampton).
Japanese players have had mixed success in the Premier League since Junichi Inamoto became the first when he joined Arsenal in 2001. Inamoto left for Fulham after a single season where he failed to make a league appearance for the Gunners.
Shinji Kagawa won the Premier League with Manchester United in 2012-2013, but drifted to the margins after a bright start and returned to Borussia Dortmund after an up-and-down two years.
FIFA-registered agent Joel Pannick, who has 50 Japanese players on his books, says English clubs previously had “a bit of a fear of Japanese players.”
“The stereotypical approach would be that the player would be technically very good, but would they be physical enough? Would they be strong enough?” Pannick said. “Previously maybe Japanese players were pigeonholed — they go to Germany or Holland [Netherlands], where it’s more technical.”
Pannick says the recent success of Japanese players at British clubs, especially at Celtic under former J.League and now Tottenham Hotspur coach Ange Postecoglou, has helped change perceptions.
He also says the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way clubs scout players, making video footage and data from around the world more readily available.
“Teams wouldn’t want to spend the time and money taking a risk going to a place far away when they don’t know what they’re going to see when they get there,” he said. “Now that everything is available to watch hours or minutes after the match, it has removed any fear of ‘should the Japanese market be one that we look at?’”
Relatively cheap transfer fees have made Japanese players a canny investment, with Pannick calling them “more attractively valued than the equivalent player from anywhere else in the world.”
Brighton paid just £2.5 million (US$3.3 million) to sign the winger Mitoma from the J.League in 2021, while prolific goalscorer Kyogo Furuhashi joined Celtic for £4.5 million the same year.
Furuhashi was heavily linked with Manchester City this summer.
The prices mean that in recent transfer windows it has mostly been Championship clubs entering the market for Japanese players.
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu says players are willing to play in the second tier and work their way up.
“The J.League is a very good league, but the players want to play at the highest level,” Moriyasu said. “The Premier League is where the best players in the world are and they want to be there, too. I think a lot of players have moved to the Championship with a view to making the step up.”
Pannick says post-Brexit changes to work permit rules have forced English clubs to look beyond Europe for signings and be “more open-minded and creative.”
Japan’s performances at the World Cup, which included wins over Germany and Spain in Qatar in 2022, have put their players firmly in the shop window.
Pannick says they have the mentality to make the most of the opportunity.
“With the players I’ve worked with, if something hasn’t gone right, if they’ve been taken out of the team or if they’re asked to play in a position that’s not their favorite, the default response is: ‘What can I do better?’” he said. “The players identify themselves as ambassadors of Japan and they want to give a good account of themselves.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their