Daiki Sugioka is a versatile footballer who’s spent most of his career playing as a left
wing back in Shonan Bellmare’s 3-4-2-1, but can play as a left back, centre back,
and defensive midfielder.
Last season, Sugioka provided four assists from his left wing back position, scoring
twice. His creative passing stats are good, with 2.2 deep completed passes or crosses
per 90, and 7.2 progressive passes per 90. He crossed 4.7 times per 90 with a 32% success
rate, and made 2.9 dribbles per 90 with a 56% success rate. He can cross well from deep
but is at his best when whipping low crosses in on the run that bend away slightly as they
cross the six yard box. He can also use that slight left curl to bend through passes into
the box that hold up to meet the run of a teammate.
Sugioka is not afraid to cut infield either, making runs from deep to arrive in the box
as an attacking threat.
He’s predominantly left footed, but did score a beautiful right-footed goal against
Vissel Kobe last season, curling it past the keeper from the left side of the box.He’s
also a good set-piece taker, with in-swinging corners and free-kicks from the right-hand
side particularly dangerous.
While his attacking work is what brings the most attention, he’s solid defensively too,
despite having played in a rather weak Shonan Bellmare side. Last season, he made 6.1 duels
per 90, succeeding 63% of the time, and made 2.9 interceptions and 2.1 successful aerial
duels per 90. At 6ft tall and with good stamina and pace, he’s strong and able to recover
his defensive positions against all but the quickest attackers.
Sugioka is one of the strongest prospects in the J League. While he’s just joined
Kashima Antlers, who finished third last season, his future seems likely to be in Europe, with
the Bundesliga a sensible destination.
Endo has already made 137 J League appearances, scoring 14 goals and contributing twenty assists.
Last season, he scored seven non-penalty goals and managed nine assists despite finishing
the season largely as a substitute. Endo is usually used a left inside forward in a 4-2-3-1,
but he can play right wing – he’s predominantly right footed – or even through the centre
as an attacking midfielder.
Endo likes to start very wide, either to isolate the full back to run at or, preferably, bypass
them by receiving a pass in behind, accelerating past, and then attacking the channel outside
the wide centre back.
This allows Endo to cut inside and shoot, or move very centrally and create opportunities
for others with through passes or even switching play to the far-sided winger or full back.
Endo’s output is good, with 2.2 shots per 90 last season in addition to his goals and
assists. His passing is creative and effective: his 3.3 deep completed passes or crosses puts
him up with two J League talents who have now transferred to Europe, Antwerp’s Koji
Miyoshi and Real Madrid’s Takefusa Kubo, on loan at Mallorca. He works especially well
with mobile forwards who can make angled runs to receive vertical passes at an angle.
Endo likes taking players on, as his six dribbles per 90 at 57% and 3.7 progressive runs, ninth
and sixth best among players we looked at respectively, show. He can overrun the ball
or carry when he should pass, so his decision-making could improve; nonetheless, his dynamism and
ball-carrying is key to his game and what makes him dangerous.
Tanaka is a defensive midfielder who plays either as a single screening midfielder in
a 4-3-3 or as part of a double pivot in a 4-2-3-1.
He’s a significant part of Kawasaki Frontale’s build-from-the-back style, constantly dropping
deep to collect the ball from the defence and then shifting it forwards or wide. His
energy and movement off the ball is eye-catching – he’s the kind of player who is always
on the move, looking to find a space where he can offer a passing option to his teammates,
scanning the pitch and showing for the ball. He’s adept at taking it under pressure too:
he looks strong enough to hold players off and has quick feet to shift the ball on when
closely marked. If he adds a little more ball-carrying to his game, he could become an effective
press-breaking midfielder.
Defensively, he’s sound. He made 8.5 defensive duels per 90 last season, winning 60%, and
4.8 interceptions per 90. He’s a front foot defensive midfielder, looking to close up
and win the ball in and around the opposition box as well as screening his own defensive
area.
This can lead him to being out of position occasionally, but a team that works well to
cover this will benefit from his industrious approach and his ability to spot where the
ball is likely to break and so win it back.
He’s a good passer, too, sometimes a little conservative but capable of line-breaking
through passes of genuine vision. His 10.4 final third passes per 90 last season at 88%
accuracy was fourth-best among players we looked at. Nine point seven progressive passes
and 1.3 deep completed passes per 90 both indicate a player who’s capable of producing
moments that open up a game, as his three assists last season show. Tanaka is a well-rounded
player who could move further up the pitch and develop his game to become a genuine all-round
midfield threat, but as a defensive midfielder, he’s already a real talent.
Six foot tall Daiki Hashioka is a right wing-back who can also play at right back or as a right
sided centre back. This versatility was on show at the AFC U23 Championship, where he
lined up both as a right wing back and a right centre back in Japan’s 3-4-2-1. Uwara Reds
have also switched between a back three and four, with Hashioka able to slot in where
required.
His height means that Hashioka can be a useful out-ball if he pushes up high, as he’s capable
in the air, contesting 9.6 aerial duels per 90 last season and winning 57%. He’s at
his best on the foot front, attacking space at pace and beating his man to whip in right
footed crosses. Last season he managed two goals and three assists, as well as contributing
four passes into the final third and one deep completed cross or pass per 90.
Hashioka has a few technical deficiencies – his crossing success is only 21% from
2.5 per 90 – and while his 8.1 defensive duels at 53% success is not bad, he can struggle
one-on-one out wide. He tries to be a proactive defender and makes 5.5 interceptions per 90,
but this, and his desire to push up into attack, means that he can be caught out of position.
This probably means his future is at wing back rather than full back for a top-level
side, although his height makes him a really useful defender at the back post.
With space to run into or runners ahead of him that can be hit with a line pass, Hashioka
can be a dangerous attacker. His game needs tempering, though. Positional versatility
is good but it can make it harder to become extremely proficient at one in particular.
If his future is at full back, he needs to work on one-on-one defending and positional
discipline; if it’s at wing back, he can improve his crossing. Either way, Hashioka
is capable of developing into a very interesting player with a future in a European league.
Ayumu Seko is a 6ft tall, left-sided, but largely right-footed, centre back. He has
been playing in a back-four as the more proactive, front-foot defender alongside a player who
tends to hang back a bit more. Seko also brings the ball forwards often, though he can have
a slightly heavy first touch which has resulted in the occasional loss of possession in dangerous
areas. As a passer, he’s competent rather than devastating: last season, he made 18
forward passes at 83% accuracy, and nine progressive passes at 78% accuracy, both per 90. His long
passing is pretty good, with 4.6 per 90 at 67%, usually clipped passes in towards the
centre forward or towards the left-hand channel.
He does have a tendency to overhit his passes sometimes, another instance of his slight
lack of finesse.
Defensively, though, Seko is a committed and physical player. Despite having a canny sense
of when to commit a foul, he was only booked once in 13 games last season. He’s unafraid
to throw himself into a block and his one-on-one defending is good, unless he’s pulled too
far to the left-hand side, where his weakness on that foot can be an issue. Last season
he only contested four defensive duels per 90 at 63%, but also made 5.2 interceptions,
which shows the difference in roles between Cerezo Osaka’s two centre backs. He contested
4.5 aerial duels per 90 last season, winning 58%, often pushing forwards into the space
between the lines to attack the ball. As a defender, he appears to back himself to win
the ball or be able to recover well enough to hold up the attacker until teammates can
help.
Seko’s fundamentals are good and his bravery and commitment is clear. His biggest weakness
is his heavy first touch, which can be an issue if he brings the ball out, but otherwise
he looks like a solid defender who, with a little work on his passing and technique,
can improve significantly.