Zion Suzuki’s decision to choose Sint Truiden over the likes of Manchester United is paying off | OneFootball

At the start of the 2023/2024 season, Sint Truiden brought in one of the highest rated Japanese goalkeepers in recent years, Zion Suzuki. Somehow, the Belgian side had beaten a number of top European clubs to his signature. Suzuki was understood to have picked the Belgian side over the likes of Manchester United and others for one key reason; the chance to play football. Suzuki has clearly got a wise head on young shoulders, and he understood that if he just got as much game time as possible, his chance of making it to a top club would come.

Fast forward two season, Suzuki is coming off another impressive campaign and is now being linked with one of Europes biggest clubs, AC Milan. If chelsea make a move for Mike Maignan, then AC Milan may well go shopping in Parma to bring the Japanese goalkeeper to the club. Suzuki played 32 games for Sint Truiden under Thorsten Fink, and his performances impressed Parma enough to spend over £6m on the goalkeeper. He kept six clean sheets, had a save percentage of 68.8% and was also decent with his feet, making 75.8% of his passes. Sint Truiden were a possession dominant side, so its not like he was only making a small number of passes per game.

In Serie A, Suzuki is one of the best in the league in terms of high claims, coming and successful dealing with more high balls than 98% of the goalkeepers in Italy. His passing numbers and save percentage has dropped slightly, but that is too be expected when playing in a league that is of higher quality. He has, as he did in Belgium, put together a nice highlight real of some fantastic saves, including this one against Roma.

Suzuki’s development in Belgium once again highlights the way in which the Pro League is able to nurture and develop young talent for the top five leagues. If he had opted for Manchester United rather than Belgium and Sint Truiden, where he would be now is obviously unknown. If he wanted to have played as much as he has at the age of 22, he would have had to leave the side on loan. Instead, he has been able to have the security of being with a side permanently and knowing he is the sides number one option in goal.

For Sint Truiden, they replaced Suzuki with Leo Kokubu, another highly talented Japanese goalkeeper who had an impressive 2024/2025 campaign.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson