Record number of Japanese in Premier League

TOKYO: A record number of Japanese players are in the Premier League this season, with clubs attracted by their proven quality, value for money and the "very little risk" involved in signing them.

Ten players from Japan were registered with top-tier English teams when the campaign kicked off last weekend, and more are potentially on the way before the transfer window closes.

Zion Suzuki was the highest-profile arrival with his switch to Aston Villa, with former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu returning to London with Crystal Palace, midfielder Hidemasa Morita joining Hull City and Daizen Maeda swapping Celtic for Ipswich Town.

They join an established group of Japanese players already in the Premier League, including Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma, Liverpool's Wataru Endo and Palace's Daichi Kamada.

FIFA-registered agent Joel Pannick of CAA Base told AFP that English clubs have "increased confidence that signing a Japanese player is a good move to make".

"There aren't many examples of clubs signing Japanese players and having issues with their adaptation, with their personality, with their integration into the squad, with discipline," said Pannick, who has about 60 Japanese players on his books.

"The risk element that teams previously feared, this fear of the unknown, has gone because with each example of a successful Japanese player it gives more confidence," he added.

Also in the Premier League are Ao Tanaka (Leeds), Kota Takai (Spurs) and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto (Coventry).

Midfielder Tanaka, who has played 41 times for Japan, joined from German side Fortuna Dusseldorf for just 3.3 million pounds (now US$4.5 million) two years ago.

Japanese players in England have come a long way since Junichi Inamoto signed for Arsenal in 2001 and