Asian players reshaping Europe’s top five leagues | OneFootball

Asian football is booming across Europe’s top five leagues, led by Japan and South Korea. Goal.com reports that Indonesia have made historic inroads, with Thailand, China, Saudi Arabia and Australia represented too.

In the Premier League, Japan provide a core, with Zion Suzuki at Aston Villa and Kaoru Mitoma at Brighton among those involved. Daichi Kamada and Takehiro Tomiyasu are at Crystal Palace, Daizen Maeda features for Ipswich Town, and South Korea’s Kim Ji-soo is at Brentford, while Uzbekistan’s Abdukodir Khusanov plays for Manchester City.

In Serie A, Yukinari Sugawara plays for Cagliari and Indonesia’s Jay Idzes is at Sassuolo. In La Liga, Takefusa Kubo continues to shine for Real Sociedad, Ryunosuke Sato is at Valencia and Atletico Madrid playmaker Lee Kang-in features, with Emil Audero at Rayo Vallecano.

The Bundesliga is a major hub, with Japanese players at clubs including Freiburg, Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach. South Korea’s ranks include Kim Min-jae at Bayern Munich and players at FC Augsburg, Schalke 04, Union Berlin and Mainz 05, while Indonesia’s Kevin Diks, Nicholas Mickelson and Raphael Obermair play for Mönchengladbach, Elversberg and Paderborn 07.

In Ligue 1, Japan are represented by Keito Nakamura at Lyon, three players at Le Havre, Ayase Ueda at Lille and Takumi Minamino at Monaco, while Calvin Verdonk plays for Lille, Saud Abdulhamid for Lens and Wei Xiangxin for Auxerre. Japan are the most represented nation, and the Bundesliga is the leading destination at elite European clubs and in the Champions League.

Source: Goal.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”