Football League World
·14 de octubre de 2024
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·14 de octubre de 2024
The Ewood Park club have been keeping a close eye on their new star
It has certainly been a rather promising start to life as a Blackburn Rovers player for Yuki Ohashi.
Brought in from Sanfreece Hiroshima in his native Japan, the 28-year-old is one of those the Ewood Park outfit have looked to in order to fill the goalscoring void left after Sammie Szmodics' exit.
So far, Ohashi has risen to that task in impressive style, and his currently the club's top scorer, with five goals in 11 appearances in all competitions so far this season.
Those have all been excellent finishes in one form or another, and have helped Blackburn to some positive results at the start of the campaign.
That form from the striker has not gone unnoticed, and ultimately led to what many at Ewood Park will feel is some well-deserved recognition from back home.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Ohashi had been named in Japan's squad for the October international break.
That inclusion represented a first call-up at any international level for the striker, and felt like vindication for his start to the campaign with Blackburn.
Ultimately, the striker was an unused substitute for his country as they won 2-0 in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
He will have another opportunity to win his first senior cap, when Japan take on Australia on Tuesday morning in another World Cup qualifier.
But even if Ohashi is not involved in that match, it could be argued that Blackburn fans have reason to be excited about the club's response to this call-up for the striker.
Amid the 28-year-old's first international call-up, it seems as though Rovers have taken action to keep a close eye on Ohashi's exploits with his national team.
According to a report from journalist Alan Nixon, the club's Director of Football operations, Rudy Gestede, along with other officials, made the trip to watch the striker in action for Japan.
It is also suggested that Blackburn officials included the scouting of the striker with other business, which is certainly an interesting prospect.
Given the success they have enjoyed with Ohashi, it is hard to imagine that the Ewood Park outfit would be against looking to Asia again when conducting their recruitment in the future.
Indeed, it is worth noting that reports in the summer did suggest Rovers had a deal in place to sign another Japanese attacker, in the form of Ryo Germain.
Ultimately, no deal materialised, though the bargain signing of Ohashi means there would surely be few reservations about signing from Japan again in the future.
As a result, the prospect of the club conducting other business while on this trip will surely intrigue supporters, given what that could perhaps imply when it may come to transfers.
Of course, even if that is not the case, there is also the possibility that while at the game to watch Ohashi, Blackburn may have picked up on other potential targets for the future.
Given how quickly the 28-year-old has become an important and popular figure since he arrived in Lancashire, the chance to replicate that deal would surely be welcomed by supporters.
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