Yuki Abe and Shinji Okazaki both had a good influence when they arrived at Leicester. Their honesty and behaviour makes them ideal team players as they do their job with special commitment and desire.
Abe arrived in 2010, at a time when the club had a lot of rotation and changes, but still he made steady performances and became a trusted first teamer. Abe made 52 league appearances and scored 2 goals, one of them in a 4-2 win vs. Ipswich, back in 2011.
Shinji Okazaki was a signing from Bundesliga club Mainz, and the fee of £7million was a bargain, looking at the move in the back mirror. Okazaki as Abe was an established player by the time he came to Leicester, and became important and a steady first teamer in that 5000/1 adventure.
Okazaki left Leicester in 2019, adding up 114 league appearances and scoring 14 goals, with that goal vs. Newcastle in the PL winning season, being the special one.
Leicester were in the summer of 2021 seen in the transfer paper talk regarding Takehiro Tomiyasu, at that time playing for Bologna. He finally ended up at Arsenal and has been a success under Mikel Arteta, playing 53 league games so far and gained experience. Watching him, he surely has the ability to play at PL level and could easily have been a good player at Leicester, if signed.
Kaoru Mitoma is another player that really has put Japan on the map, being signed directly from J1-League, playing for Kawasaki Frontale, being loaned out to Union SG, and later becoming a player that has put Brighton & Hove Albion on the map.
Looking at the Japan team, that defeated Germany and Turkey with heavy numbers back in September, you surely have players that could do a massive job in Championship. Since playing Germany and Turkey, Japan has a massive record, adding up wins, playing Canada (4-1), Tunisia (2-0), Syria (5-0), Myanmar (5-0).
So with that picture in mind, the quality in the Japan squad do show us all that players from this continent and country of course could come in and do a job for Leicester.
Looking at the players, some names are allready listed as potential candidates. The four goalscorers in the game vs. Germany, Ito, Ueda, Asano and Tanaka are all playing in Europe. Midfielder Junya Ito (30) are at present with Reims in France. Ayase Ueda (25) is a forward representing Feyenoord in Holland. Takuma Asano (29) is at Bochum in German Bundesliga. Ao Tanaka (25) represents Fortuna Dusseldorf of Bundesliga 2.
One player that has been drawn towards a possible move to England is right back Yukinari Sugawara currently with AZ Alkmaar in Holland. He is 23 years of age and one player that have many eyes watching him, including Fulham and Liverpool, as his progress and talent cannot be faulted.
Celtic, under the management of Brendan Rodgers, are currently on top of the Scottish Premiership, with a massive gap of 8 points to Rangers in 2nd place. Rodgers have three Japanese internationals in his squad. They are midfielder Daizen Maeda, attackers Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate, all of them contributing well with a number of goals, good play and appearances so far this season.
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