3 Rangers transfer options from Japan as club urged 'not to miss the bus' on J League bargains

Though your first thought may not be Japanese football when reading that somewhat convoluted thought, I think the sentiment relates and reigns true regarding the emergence of Japan as a transfer market in the west.

In the cyclical nature of football players' development, we are currently at a crossroads. Much of the J League's best has been picked and exported west recently: Celtic got Kyogo and Hatate, Brighton secured Mitoma, Fortuna loaned Tanaka, Al Arabi convinced Olunga to relocate to Qatar, and Antwerp booked the services of Miyoshi. Though not to worry, many new kids have already emerged on the block, taking the reigns over from those who have left for pastures new. Despite the "prime" talent no longer calling Japan home, there remains a plethora of talent on offer, with many having substantial merit to be on the Rangers' transfer radar and even a few who they should pursue aggressively whilst the market remains an undervalued one.

Yasuto Wakizaka, Kawasaki Frontale

Despite the emergence of Alex Lowry as a credible option at No.8 or No.10, Rangers will still need to dip their toes in the market for an attack-minded box-to-box midfielder, regardless of the potential of outgoings, and may be forced to if they cash in on Joe Aribo or fail to extend Scott Arfield’s deal. I’ve detailed a plethora of options across Europe and North Africa, though if Japan is more your flavour, then Yasuto Wakizaka may be the answer to our forthcoming problem. Classifying Wakizaka as a No.8 may be a bit generous as despite the number on his Kawaski Frontale top, he is probably too attack-minded to be a true box-to-box, however for a side as dominant as Rangers, that is likely the ideal profile.

Above is Wakizaka’s heatmap from the 2021 J League season, which immediately strikes you as incredibly advanced and more akin to an attacking midfielder; just consider the share of touches in his own vs opponents half. Kawasaki enjoyed over 57% possession in the past season, so it's natural for their attacking-minded players to enjoy more advanced possession than others, which is evident in this case and something that he would continue to experience at Ibrox.

Wakizaka isn’t one who merely ponders around; instead, he is incredibly effective in possession, especially within a goal-scoring and creating capacity. Despite the small sample size, Wakizaka placed first for combined xG and xA p90 for all non-forwards with over 300 minutes in last years Asian Champions League with an incredible 1.01 p90, a competition of undeniable quality. If we look at some season-long data, below is Wakizaka compared to fellow centre-mids in the J League who hit the 1000 minutes requirement.

Wakizaka profiles as an all-action attacking-minded midfielder. Based purely on the data, he seems to be best suited as an attacking No.8 in a three-man midfield or as a No,10 in front of a double pivot, for reference, the role Aribo and Arfield currently share. Despite posting impressive goal and assist numbers, Wakizaka is considerably underperforming his expected values, so much so that he is theorised to be leaving upwards of 0.12 goal contributions on the pitch p90, a 31.5% underperformance. Despite this, in actuality, he maintains awe-inspiring creative passing numbers and provides the footballing equivalent of basketball’s “triple threat”: an ability to pass, dribble, or shoot.

Wakizaka’s most lethal weapon in his arsenal is his right foot, which is incredibly effective from outside the box, a feature that few at Ibrox can claim to have. The above is taken from a match against Beijing Guoan. Here, Wakizaka received the ball from wide, continued forward, realised the defenders were stepping off, took advantage of the space, and played it into the top right corner. These sort of strikers are not a daily occurrence; however, Wakizaka does provide a credible and consistent goal threat from midfield, they may not all be as pretty as the example above, but the score is all that matters.

A more consistent contribution from Wakizaka comes in the form of facilitating teammates, which, as discussed, the data suggests he does a lot! He is an intelligent footballer who has fantastic awareness and technical ability, an expectation of most Japanese players. The example above shows both of these in motion. Despite the presence of three defenders around him and two further between him and the back post, Wakizaka manages to slide the ball deep to an open teammate who is ready for a back-post tap in. Many would have taken a shot or just hit it low and hard, but even despite the cluster of action around him, Wakizaka maintained the presence of mind to find the optimal outcome, which he executed.

Ryuho Kikuchi, Vissel Kobe

Score app ratings from WhoScored, SofaScore and FotMob are often called out for the lack of nuance and inability to accurately evaluate defensive performances, with goals and attacking play superseding defensive stability. However, it's not all bad as generally there is merit to the ratings, albeit do not take them as gospel.

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In SofaScore's 2021 year in review, their "rest of the world" team included to no surprise Rangers own James Tavernier, alongside him was Vissel Kobe's Ryuho Kikuchi, a 24-year-old Japanese centre-back who to me is the perfect profile and at the ideal juncture in his career to head west. Kikuchi stands at a strong 1.88m, so any baseless assumptions that he may not handle the physicality of the Scottish Premiership are wrong. Kikuchi is the former in the classic dog/cat typology of centre-backs, supported by his aggressive and incredibly expansive heatmap below.

Data-based appraisals are often spotty when it comes to centre-backs, however, the graphic below does confirm the claim that Kikuchi is an incredibly active and successful defender in both ground and aerial duels. Kobe also managed to control 55.4% of possession in J League games last season, so it's not like he is playing for a side who are constantly attacked and padding his numbers that way, they would be even more impressive if were to possession adjust them. Excitingly he also defends with a similar passion and love that Nikola Katic had done at Ibrox, if nothing else, it's certainly at least something that the fans love.

Suppose his activity in defence wasn't enough. In that case, Kikuchi is a tangible and reliable threat in attack, moving well with the ball at his feet, and maintaining a consistent scoring threat similar to that of Connor Goldson. Kikuchi sees large spells of possession and is a consistent player in Kobe's build-up; though, more often than not, he's asked to play the simpler "connector passes" instead of line-breaking diagonals, something that he could easily do alongside someone like John Souttar.

Above is Kikuchi's "Chance Building Point" profile created by the fantastic team at football-lap.jp. A direct translation from their website states, "CBP is an index that quantifies how many opportunities a player (or team) was able to build a chance opportunity through a match". This tries to quantify the totality of a player's action and how those either add or detract from a team's performance to the best of my knowledge. The highlights of Kikuchi's CBP come in the form of his ranking as the second in defensive output, 10th in interceptions or "take", and miraculously a 66th and 81st placement for goals and offensive production. Overall, this further corroborates Kikuchi's quality and the fact that he has the wholistic game necessary for a Rangers centre-back.

Ryotaro Araki, Kashima Antlers

Mitoma and Kyogo are the most recent J League forwards to test the waters in Europe, and to say both have succeeded would be an understatement. Despite being different players, they share a slight build, intelligent movement, and impressive technique; if you are looking for the newest and youngest of this model, look no further than Kashima Antlers’ Ryotaro Araki. In its truest sense, Araki is a hybrid forward, splitting minutes on the right-wing, left-wing, and up top evenly so far in his short career. His Wyscout heatmap from below translates this idea into image form, as it's difficult to make any accurate conclusions regarding position beyond the obvious that he is found everywhere in the front line.

His speed, ball-carrying, and creative abilities make it so that he is supremely effective on the wing, which is seen in the graphic below comparing him with his fellow J League strikers. It would be easy to conclude that given his impressive creative numbers and average goalscoring numbers, he should turn out purely as a winger or 10; however, some of his best work is done as a "second-striker". Though that role doesn't necessarily fit within the current Rangers scheme, it could be trailed, and if not, Araki remains a fantastic option on either wing or as a 10.

If we look at Araki’s CBP profile, it's imposing and corroborates the suggestions from the graphic above. He ranks ninth for goals, 17th for pass receptions, 21st for shooting, 30th for dribbling and 55th for overall attacking contribution.

Araki’s passing game is incredibly developed and intelligent for a player of his age. Despite playing so advanced, he can still play teammates into influential scoring positions consistently, often due to him coming deep or interplay with teammates. The example below sees him receive the ball at the top of the centre-circle, patiently progress forward until his strike partner gives him the eyes, he then slips the forward in. The pass is played with the perfect weight to get past his defensive matchup but not so strong so that the goalkeeper can rush and collect it with ease. His ability on the ball also allows him to perform similar tasks under pressure and with limited space.

In line with his ability to operate quickly and with defenders nearby, this often comes alive and is most effective when he’s in the box getting shots off. He is very much an instinctive striker of the ball, able to get shots off quickly, perhaps surprisingly so.

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The image below is an example of this; here, the ball ricochets off a defender; Araki is first to come to grasps, takes it down quickly and dispatches it hard and low into the bottom right corner. He will not find the corners constantly as his finishing still needs work, though the initial signs, compounded by his age, are encouraging.

It's essential to note Araki's aggressive overperformance of his expected numbers in 2021, at a rate of 40%. Often this is a red herring when it comes to recruitment, especially when recruiting from a league of such contrasting style to yours; however, a majority of the J League's top offensive talent are serial "overperformers". Whether it be down to stylistic or structural reasons, Araki's overperformance is less critical than it would be if he were alone in that fact. Regardless, if he were to move to Glasgow, it would be silly to expect him to continue this overperformance given all the internal and external factor shifts.