Kaoru Mitoma looks to build on Premier League success with Brighton
Japan captain Wataru Endo is vying to defend his Premier League title with Liverpool, Daichi Kamada has his sights on a second straight FA Cup with Crystal Palace and Ao Tanaka is looking to build on last season's Championship title with Leeds United. New arrival Kota Takai, meanwhile, will be seeking to make a name for himself with UEFA Conference League winners Tottenham Hotspur.
But no Japanese player will be more essential for their team's ambitions than Brighton & Hove Albion's Kaoru Mitoma.
'Mitoma is one of the best wingers in the world today,' said Tokyo-based grassroots coach Tom Byer . 'He's fantastic, he is just so good. He's great technically, he plays with unbelievable confidence, and he just comes alive in big games.
"He has so many different variations of what he can do; if he isolates you out on the wing, he's going to win almost 90% of the time. He's got it down to a perfection, it's really like a science. If you see the way that he plays, he is very good at distancing himself and understanding how to manipulate that space.'
Prior to making the leap to Europe, the Oita Prefecture native had emerged as one of the best players in the J. League for Kawasaki Frontale before eventually joining Brighton in 2021 for £2.5 million (about ¥500 million based on current rates), only to be immediately loaned out to sister club Belgium's Union Saint-Gilloise.
After returning from his loan prior to the start of the 2022-23 campaign, Mitoma was an unused substitute in the opening match against Manchester United before coming off the bench against Newcastle and immediately impressing the Brighton faithful.
'We had no idea what to expect from Mitoma, and the idea of him making the jump was a write-off in some fans' minds ... some thought we'd never actually see him play for us, let alone become the superstar he is today,' said Ryan Adsett , creator of the Brighton website Talk Seagulls.
'Nobody truly took him seriously until he made his debut versus Newcastle; it was like watching a star being born. For the first time in my life watching Brighton, I felt like we had a real top player on our hands.'
That year, Mitoma excelled on the left side of Brighton's attack, combining his blistering change of pace, his devastating close control and remarkable first touch to great effect. He also played in all four of Japan's matches at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The midseason departure of Leandro Trossard to Arsenal opened the door for Mitoma to become one of the first names on Roberto De Zerbi's team sheet, racking up 11 goals and 9 assists in 41 appearances across competitions. With Mitoma running the show, Brighton managed to finish sixth in the Premier League and qualify for the Europa League for the first time.
'What he's doing when he has the ball on the wing is a mathematical equation of such complexity done in a millisecond — he knows the precise angle and distance to beat players,' Byer said. 'He's constantly measuring the distance between him and the defenders to come up with the circumference of how he gets around so many players. He then uses his change of direction or change of speed to get around players and create dangerous moments to either shoot or pass to another player.'
Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma in Premier League action against Bournemouth on Feb. 25. |
Action Images / via Reuters
After an injury-plagued 2023-24 season that saw him miss 31 matches for club and country, Mitoma returned with a vengeance last year under new manager Fabian Hurzeler, bagging a goal in the opener versus Everton and adding an assist in the following match against Manchester United. He ranked first among all Brighton players for successful dribbles per match (1.4) during league play, while only Joao Pedro and Brajan Gruda racked up more key passes per game than his 1.0 average.
That's why Brighton rejected a reported transfer offer of €95 million from Saudi club Al-Nassr in January. Other clubs like Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have put out feelers, according to media reports, but ultimately it seems that Mitoma is keen to stay put at the Amex, where he has a contract until 2027.
Following a summer that saw Brighton lose various key figures like Joao Pedro, Simon Adingra and Pervis Estupinan, the onus is now on Mitoma to step up and lead by example as Brighton seeks to build on last season.
'Mitoma has looked fit and strong in preseason and has been keen to shoot,' said Brian Owen , who covers the club for the local paper The Argus. 'His partner at left-back is likely to be Max De Cuyper, who is very attack-minded, which underlines the faith Hurzeler has in the defensive side of Mitoma's game. The key for Mitoma is remaining fit — he is getting into goal-scoring positions and has just had his best season in that regard. That said, I think he will always improve anyway because he studies his own game and is self-critical — maybe excessively so.'
At 28 years old, Mitoma has already cemented his status as one of the deadliest wingers in world soccer, capable of turning defenders inside out with his lethal dribbling and striking fear into the heart of every goalkeeper with his potent shooting ability.
The next year may well define his legacy as he looks to lead Brighton higher up the Premier League table and push Samurai Blue to new heights at next summer's World Cup in North America.
'I almost prefer that he stays at Brighton,' Byer said. 'One of the problems that Japanese players have made traditionally is jumping to those big clubs, and they usually don't do as well. If you sent him to Manchester United or another big club, he might not be playing regularly in the starting 11, but at Brighton, he just fits. I just love to watch him play.'
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