Arsène Wenger was ahead of the curve in 2013 when he identified one of the world’s fastest growing talent pools. “I find a new market that is very interesting and very competitive is the Japanese market,” he said. “Look at the number of Japanese players who play now in Germany for example.”
And now England. This summer, Japan’s Kota Takai became part of the new Thomas Frank era at Tottenham while Birmingham have added another two Japanese players to take their contingent to three. They also have the South Korean midfielder Paik Seung-ho while his compatriot Park Seung-soo has joined Newcastle from Suwon Bluewings.
