We have seen a lot of young Japanese players breaking through & doing great not only in the Japanese J League but also in Europe (Kubo, Tanaka, Mitoma etc). It feels like a particularly exciting moment for Japanese football!
This post will look at what I see as the most promising prospects in the J league. I will look at firstly young players that have broken into the first team and are playing regular. Secondly, I will look at players who are at the fringes of the team and offer huge potential for their teams (and our sorare squads!)
I am conscious of the u23 rule in Sorare (those turning 24 by July 2022 will lose the u23 badge) so will only pick players currently 22 or younger
Current players - Players playing regularly & on Sorare
Name: Ryotaro Araki
Team: Kashima Antlers
Rare Av: 0.186
Positives
Young Player of year for the J League in 2021
Takes set pieces
4 years + of U23 stats on Sorare
46% of his games in 2021 saw a score of >60 points
Risks
Doesnt always start/rotation risk
Potential transfer to europe/non sorare league
Name: Ryuya Nishio
Team: Cerezo Osaka
Rare Av: 0.088
Positives
Breakthrough season in 2021 and was able to cerement his place in the first X11
Showed excellent calmness and composure
Best duel won % for all U21 defeders with 61.2%
4 years + of U23 stats on Sorare
Risks
Consistent scorer but rarely gets >60 points (13% in last 6 months)
Low risk of Cerezo bringing in another CB as he and Seko are both relatively young/inexperienced
Name: Daiki Matsuoka
Team: Shimizu
Rare Av: 0.056
Positives
Reliable starter that rarely is DNP (>95% in starting X11 last season)
Consistent scorer with a L40 of 50 which can give predictable scores to anchor a SO5 team
Still has 4 years as <U23
Risks
Rarely gets a high score
Shimizu are a relatively poor team with a risk of relegation to J2 (though he would almost certainly transfer to a J1 team if this happens
Name: Kosei Tan
Team: Shonan Bellmare (On loan from Gamba Osaka)
Rare Av Price: 0.357
Positives
Reliable starter that rarely is DNP
Consistent scorer not reliant on CS
Started all the Olympics games as Japans keeper
Still has 3 years+ as <U23
Risks
Highly likely to remain on loan at Shonan but still uncertainty over future next season and after loan finishes
Play for a relatively poor team who only narrowly beat relegation
Name: Ayase Ueda
Team: Kashima Antlers
Position: Forward
Rare Av: 0.199
Positives
Scored 14 goals last season
Explosive speed and ability to score even from the bench
1.5 years of U23 status on Sorare
48% of his games in 2021 saw a score of >60 points
Risks
Doesnt always start/rotation risk
Potential transfer to europe/non sorare league
Relatively poor assists records
Notable others
Yuito Suzuki , Keisuke Osako, Ayumu Seko , Yuta Goke, Shunki Higashi ,Taiga Hata
Future Stars
Jun Nishikawa (Cerezo Osaka)
Nishikawa came to worldwide attention when Barcelona showed interest in signing him a couple of years ago. And its easy to see why as he has excellent:
Passing ability
Technique
Vision
Pace
First touch
Shooting
He was able to notch up 17 appearances last season and it was a stop start kind of season. He is gaining much needed experience and this could well we his breakout year
Ryunosuke Sagara (Cerezo Osaka)
Ryunosuke Sagara also enjoyed some experience in the first team this year with 10 apps. He has great dribbling technique and speed.
Sagan Tosu have been struggling financially but do have a great youth setup which should work in Sagaras favour as the team will likely be more reliant on youth than new transfers
Zion Suzuki (Urawa Reds)
Zion was highly impressive in the cup games he played for Urawa, so much so he was awarded the "New Hero Award"!
He was also called up to the Olympics squad and earned his first u23 cap this year.
Still only 19 and learning from Nishikawa, he is in the perfect place to fine tune his skills and gain more experience and its only a matter of time before he is challenging for the number 1 spot
Notable others
Kashif Bangnagane , Dai Tsukamoto , Yuma Obata, Shinya Nakano (no card on sorare yet),Jiro Nakamura
For full disclosure, I own Araki, Ueda and Matsuoka (SR) and am not looking to sell anytime soon :)
As we can see, there is a lot exciting talent in all positions in the J league. Though there is always risk of transfer to Europe for some of the players in the near future, the success of Mitoma and Furuhashi show these players can continue to give utility to Sorare managers.
Although, I have only put Rare Card prices in, these players will have the same potential in Limited divisons where U23 cards in Asia offer alot of value, especially considering you can win cards from all leagues in that division and not just Asia cards.
When trying to buy U23s in Sorare, I personally try to have a % of my gallery for future stars that might not be playing now but have huge potential. The main reason for this is purchase price and potential scores/price appreciation. This strategy will of course depend on your outlay and risk appetite!
Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions of other players :)
I am always more than happy to talk things J League & Sorare on twitter or Discord
