Admit it, when you read that, the first thing you thought was ‘another Ryo Miyaichi,’ right?
Me too.
A report popped up on Twitter from Japan earlier today claiming that Takuma Asano of Sanfrecce Hiroshima has received an offer from Arsenal and he’s likely to accept.
Sources say Japan's Rio Olympic striker Takuma Asano of Sanfrecce Hiroshima has offer from Arsenal, likely to accept #Arsenal
— Shintaro Kano (@shintarokano) June 29, 2016
Fee for Asano, 21, remains to be seen. Starting point 3 mil euros? Ex-Gunner Miyachi had 5-yr deal out of high school #arsenal
— Shintaro Kano (@shintarokano) June 29, 2016
Hiroshima, Arsenal have yet to enter full-blown talks for Asano though Gunners' offer said to be most attractive from Europe #arsenal
— Shintaro Kano (@shintarokano) June 29, 2016
Hiroshima hope to use Asano's fee from Arsenal to help fund new stadium they are seeking approval for near Peace Park #arsenal
— Shintaro Kano (@shintarokano) June 29, 2016
Asano has several offers from Europe incl Arsenal. Gunners set to loan Asano out upon joining after Rio #arsenal
— Shintaro Kano (@shintarokano) June 29, 2016
So, who’s making the claim?
The Tweet came from Shitaro Kano, a journalist who works out of Japan.
He hasn’t just tweeted the information above, he’s also got quotes from the player:
Takuma Asano on Arsenal offer: "I was a little stunned. But I feel like I have the confidence to succeed wherever I go… #arsenal
— Shintaro Kano (@shintarokano) June 29, 2016
"And if I go, I do have an idea of what it would be like…If I am loaned elsewhere, my take on it is that I give it 100 percent" #arsenal
— Shintaro Kano (@shintarokano) June 29, 2016
Why should we trust it?
Like most things online, you probably shouldn’t trust it 100% but this is a player no-one knows coming from a club only a few will have heard off and as far as Twitter rumours go, this is a solid one.
The journalist backs it up with extra info (so hasn’t just thrown a name out there and left it) and has also quoted the player.
Who is the player?
He’s a 21-year-old centre forward who has scored seven goals in 19 games in 2016.
He signed for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2013 and has made a total of 88 appearances scoring 25 goals and grabbing 11 assists.
He has four full caps for his national side and one competitive goal which came in a 7-2 over Bulgaria in 2016.
In his short career, he has won the J League twice and the Super Cup three times. He also won the AFC u23 Championship in 2016 and was voted J League Rookie of the Year in 2015.
As one Arsenal fan from Japan said, “Asano is a player that people are really talking about here. Having been to a few games, I can confirm that he is a talent and certainly has pace. But I’m also going to be honest and say that the premiership is a big step up from the J-League so we might have to be patient with him. Still, I really hope this goes through!”
What’s likely to happen?
Who knows.
At this point, this is about all the information we have but the player and both clubs seem keen so there seems little to stop it other than a change of heart from one of the three parties involved.
Watch him in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqDfzVYTUeg&feature=youtu.be&t=3m52s