Transfers

The second transfer special for the season focuses on players from the J1 that have yet to crack the starting 11 for their respective teams on a consistent basis, with some prospects throughout Asia and a review of some select names from the last transfer special.

I need to give a lot of credit to the @J-TalkPod, @FRsoccerSam and @mcintinhos for providing me the list of J1 players as well as their breakdowns from yet another excellent Podcast. I would have never known about some of these players if it wasn’t for them so thank you very much boys.

Review of Transfer Special # 1 Targets.

It is unlikely that FC Ryukyu will dip into the transfer market to acquire any European, South American or North American players this window. Considering that FC Ryukyu operate on a limited budget, half season loans are the most enticing method to reinforce the squad this summer. While I can dream of FC Ryukyu signing a Japanese footballer (Ryo Miyaichi) who is currently plying their trade in Europe at a pretty high level, it is more realistic for FC Ryukyu to focus on the talent here in Japan and Asia in the interim. There is plenty of footballing talent languishing on benches in the J1 as well as emerging in the J3. There is also plenty of talent that can be found throughout neighboring countries. Remember, there is no limit to the number of ASEAN country players a team can roster, only foreign players. This provides FC Ryukyu with a little more flexibility when selecting potential targets as well as an opportunity.

ASEAN Prospects

1. Nguyen Quang Hai: Vietnam. Plays for Hanoi FC. MF. Everything I’ve seen or read about this player is that he is one of the best footballing prospects in Asia. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup in 2018. Quoted as having blistering pace and impeccable technique. At only 22 years old, this guy makes for an enticing prospect. Won’t be available for long.

2. Curt Dizon. Philippines. Plays for Ceros-Negros. Left Winger/FWD. A big strong forward who has a very nice left foot. Slightly older for a prospect and hasn’t faced the strongest of competition yet is an internationally capped player for the Philippines having been capped 16 times with one goal to his name.

3. Supachok Sarachat. Thailand. Plays for Buriam United. MF. Will be a tall ask of FCR to afford a player from a club that consistently plays in the Asian Champions League. 13 goals and 3 assists this season.

4. Eakkinit Punya. Thailand. Currently plays of ChIangmai FC on Loan from Singha Chiangrai United. MF. 3 goals and 3 assists this season. He’s under contract until 2023 with his parent club but worth a shot for a 20-year-old prospect.

J3 Prospects

When I first wrote about which J3 players to target back in early May, it was to reinforce the position of CAM and FB due to the Nakagawa transfer and injuries to the FC Ryukyu squad. Not much has changed for FC Ryukyu in that they are still searching for the Nakagawa replacement up front and could quite possibly lose Tokumoto to a Russian Premier League club this summer. That would leave FC Ryukyu with very little depth in defense as they only feature 5 players within J2 matches on a consistent basis.

FC Ryukyu have a tall striker named Uehara but he has made only a limited appearance for the club, though he has scored a crucial goal. At the time of the first transfer entry, FC Ryukyu were conceding goals late on in matches in addition to conceding a lot of goals from set pieces. I thought a player of Jao Gabriel’s height and distemper could serve FC Ryukyu well when games needed a result or leads needed to be preserved. A perfect example of this line of reasoning is Uehara’s rising header against Niigata to seal the win late versus Niigata. Well if fitness is an issue for Uehara, I think it would be prudent to bring in a player like Gabriel and see what he can offer this side.

1. Natsuki Mugikura. Iwate Grulla Morioka. LB. I never heard of this guy prior to logging onto J-Stats to see who’s leading the J3 in assists. Well, it is Mugikura. His tape is electric. The ball seems to be shot out of a cannon when it leaves his left foot. He delivers quality set pieces and you really need to watch the game tape from his last 2 matches against Gamba Osaka U-23 and Kitakyushyu. If there is even the remote possibility that Tokumoto is out the door then he FCR need to sign Mugikura before he’s picked up by another club. Only 23 years old. Watch his highlights and watch the delivery he provides on set pieces.

2. Jao Gabriel. SC Sagamihara. FW. Jao hasn’t scored since the time of the last transfer entry and has played sparingly the past 4 games. Possibly recovering from an injury. I will echo what I said in earlier entries about those things you cannot teach in Football, height and speed. Jao may never crack the starting 11 on a consistent basis but he could provide the much-needed punch or protection at the end of matches. If his playing time is being reduced over at Sagamihara, then FCR maybe able to get him on the cheap.

J1 Loan Targets

I really need to thank the boys one more time for these entries. I’ve grappled with the tough question of “why would FCR want to take a player on loan?” First, is it to add depth to the squad? Is it to fill a pressing need or void? Is there someone they’re interested in signing long term to the club? And then you must lay that acetate over the current squad and ask, “Would we hinder the development of any of our younger players by bringing in additional loan signings this summer that may reduce our current players’ game time?”

To be honest, the biggest area of concern is the defensive depth of FC Ryukyu. We saw early on how Masutani filled in for Nishioka for about 8 matches and now how Fukui is filling in for the injured Tokumoto. Arai and others on the squad have rarely gotten a chance to play and even the Emperor’s cup match featured Okazaki starting at CB. I’ll never know if it’s because the reserve players are hurt, or they are just not ready to play at this level. In either case, FC Ryukyu could use some defensive reinforcements, specifically, at the FB position.

FC Ryukyu has some very exciting young players in the MF. Uejo is best suited on the flanks, Kawai as well, with Koizumi taking on the CAM role in the 4-2-3-1. Ochi currently starts at CAM so this seems like an area that if FCR are going to make a move for someone, it may come at the expense of the players listed at the start of the paragraph. So, we have one of those dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t situations. FCR may acquire a talented player that helps them the remainder of the season but they may not be able to keep that player and risk losing out on valuable developmental time for our own prospects.

There are a couple of key points to close out this transfer blog. First, the parent club for any loan player needs to continue to pay the wages of the player while on loan at FCR, or at least pay a majority of the player’s wages. FCR is essentially providing a venue for talented players at larger clubs to gain valuable first team experience in exchange for the parent club paying the wages. If FCR has the scouting infrastructure in place, they’d do well to get those players who are likely out of contract next season and possibly out of favor with club in hopes of signing them to a deal for 2020.

Second, I am not sure if anyone at FCR uses wyscout but it seems like a very valuable resource for scouting football talent. I do not know the size and structure for the FC Ryukyu scouting department but wyscout looks like it can handle a lot of the heavy lifting for a team who resources are constrained. Heck, I may even sign up for an account. (http://wyscout.com)

Finally, and most importantly, FCR needs to look at countries like Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia for talented footballers that most Japanese clubs may ignore based on stereotypes and cultural bias. There are untapped reserves of talent throughout Asia that will reward clubs that are brave enough to sign these players. FC Ryukyu could close the gap on their better resourced, better established peers quickly by showing a little faith and signing talented players from these countries. Bridging the language and cultural gaps may prove difficult at first but shouldn’t be enough of a reason to dissuade FCR from making signings that will ultimately benefit the club. FCR has done this in the past when they signed Wan Zack Haikal and Nazirul Naim Che Hashim from Malaysia in 2013.

We’ll have the 3^rd installment of the Transfer Special after the window closes to review any new signings by FCR this summer. If not, than we will reconvene at the end of the year to look at what areas of need for FCR.

Welcome to the first transfer blog of the year. I will do several transfer entries throughout the season starting with this Golden Week Special and ending with the off-season one sometime in early January 2020.

The first transfer blog entry will center on the positions of Central Mid Field, Central Attacking Mid Field and Right Back due to the loss of several key players in those positions from the FC Ryukyu roster. I will break down the potential FCR transfer targets by; geographical regions, then provide any relevant statistics for that player and finally determine whether or not they would be considered a permanent move or loan target.

This is only my opinion since I have no idea what funds are available to club for the summer transfer window nor the manager’s plans for the future. This is simply an exercise in viewing what prospects could be within reach of FCR in the next few months. I hope the club is actively seeking transfer targets as well as planning for those whose paperwork, referring to work Visas here in Japan, can be processed prior to the transfer deadline in August.

It is also important to consider that other teams may have their sights set on some FC Ryukyu players and it is vital that the club doesn’t let anyone of the core players depart this summer.

Also, I must give a big thanks to https://www.transfermarkt.com for their information.

ASIA

1. J3 Transfer Targets

I’ve mentioned Gabriel and what he could offer FCR so let us move on to rest of the list. Yanagi from Y.S.C.C. is an interesting prospect, nice passes and shots in the two game highlights I’ve been able to watch. Nakashima from Akita could be a nice depth signing at CB since he has height (1.90m). Iino would provide some much-needed depth at RB/RWB/RMF for FCR. He looks like a carbon copy of Nishioka and provides nice balls into the box from the right side. Atsukawa is another depth signing and someone who offers some upside in FKs and CKs. The Gamba Osaka U-23 targets of Takao and Meshino would probably be quite difficult to dislodge from Gamba, especially with Meshino as he looks like a special talent. Finally, Yamada from Cerezo Osaka U-23 would be another loan target and depth if FCR were to miss out on Meshino.

2. J1 Half Season Loan Targets

The list contains a very familiar name for FCR fans and Nakagawa could possibly return on loan to FC Ryukyu if Yokohama are knocked out of the Levain Cup. There is always the chance that some ahead of Nakagawa on the depth chart is injured but it is likely that Nakagawa only features in cup competitions during his first year at Yokohama. Yokohama has secured his services for the long term so it is possible they want his development to continue and there is no better way than a return to the FCR lineup. We’ve seen FCR do something similar to this in the past with Tanaka when he returned on loan during his time with Mito.

The remainder of the list consists of some younger players in the J1 that are rarely used and could provide a spark to the FCR attack in the last half of the season. It would be ideal if FCR can reach an agreement with the parent club of each player whereas the parent club still pays those players wages and FCR simply provides and opportunity for playing time.

3. Japan High School and University Targets

The third list represents some long-term targets for FC Ryukyu that may or may not be on their radar. Most of the players listed here have featured at one time for one of the Japan National teams (U-21, U-20, U-19) and are unlikely to break into the starting lineup of their parent club anytime soon. FC Ryukyu could possibly purchase one of these players for the 2020 season but it is more likely that they secure their services via a loan deal with a possibility to purchase in the future. I am not sure of the age regulations regarding signing players here in Japan but Kumasawa is currently unsigned. If it is his desire to stay at Ryutsu Keizai University than like I’ve seen with so many other young players, FC Ryukyu should enter into a futures contract with Kumasawa.

4. Japan Players to Target for Return to the J League

Listed here are Japanese players who are playing football in leagues throughout the world that could fancy a return to Japan at some point in their careers. Overseas football experience has proven invaluable for FCR if you consider a player like Nakagawa who was in the lower tiers of the Spanish leagues prior to his move to FC Ryukyu. Some player such as Miyaichi are probably not going to progress above the level they are at right now and a move back to their home country could revitalize their careers.

The top prospect is Miyaichi as he has so much experience throughout Europe but there are a lot of interesting young mid fielders listed as well. I think when Japanese attacking mid fielders return from Europe, they are a lot more polished than those that are home-grown in the J League. Of course, wages are sure to be an issue, along with the transfer fee, so FC Ryukyu would have to contact the clubs to gauge their willingness to release these players. If it is seen that any one of these players could move on a “free transfer,” FC Ryukyu should act quickly, especially for those playing in Europe whose seasons have ended and whose contracts may not be renewed for next season.

5. ASEAN Players

There is a J League limit of 5 foreign players per roster but there is no limit on the amount of partner nation players for a team. Therefore, the two players listed here from Thailand would not count against the FC Ryukyu foreign player roster and do make for some interesting prospects.

Eakkanit Punya has some nice speed and his finishing looks good. Probably reluctant to make a move based on the language barrier and playing for his home town club but he would be an interesting to watch in the J League. Supachok Sarachat plays for arguably the largest club in Thailand, Buriam United, and is quite the finisher. Each offers some speed and spark in the attack but securing their services will prove tricky. Again, the language barrier maybe the first hurdle if they don’t speak any English. This would make coaching them very difficult and I am not sure FC Ryukyu would be willing to hire numerous interpreters to support a diverse lineup from around the globe.

Kurt Dizon dominated lower level competition but has some flare/flash and a very nice left foot. I would need to see more game footage against better competition but he has some international experience having been capped by the Philippines.

EUROPEAN PLAYERS

All the players listed here are found within the 3^rd and 4^th tiers of the respective country’s football pyramids. I simply looked at last seasons stats and their ages to make a comprehensive list. There are a multitude of hurdles FC Ryukyu would have to clear with signing any international players so consider this a wish list more than anything.

6. Europe: UK & Spain