Steven Hammell has burned through plenty of midnight oil to ensure Riku Danzaki swaps Brisbane for Motherwell. Now with the Japanese ace finally having completed his move from the other side of the planet the Well boss is positive he will catch fire with the Steelmen and light up Fir Park.
The 22-year-old arrived in Scotland this week after spending the last four months on loan at Brisbane Roar from his parent club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo and was officially confirmed as a Well player this morning. His move from the other side of the globe has seen Hammell and his recruitment team having to wait until daylight breaks both Down Under and in Japan to talk business and the Brisbane loan was cut short in order to do a deal with Sapporo.
Danzaki, who was Brisbane’s top scorer in his first spell in the A-League, is now in a race against time to feature against St Mirren today. But after tying down his fourth January signing following the arrivals of Shane Blaney, Mikael Mandron and Ollie Cranckshaw, Hammell said: “There’s been a lot of paperwork, a lot of late night even early morning phone calls with the time difference.
“The logistics of two other teams being involved makes it difficult. I was doing Zoom calls, Whats App calls with him and agents .. it’s been a long process!
“But the one thing that made it worthwhile was that Riku wanted to come here. That means a lot to me. If you’re bringing a player in and thinking he doesn’t really want to be here it’s going to be a struggle.
“But he’s been on a plane for a full day and has come in and right away said ‘I’ll do whatever you want me to do’. That shows the character and how much he wants to be here.
“He’s a player the fans will enjoy. He’s a player we like and hope to tie down as soon as possible.
“He will bring an energy and intensity to the team. He is a good player, good character with a great attitude. Being a good character is huge. If we are trying to create an environment and culture in here that is competitive, enjoyable then it’s important you bring the right characters in.
“I’d rather have a seven or an eight out of 10 player that will fit into what we are doing than a nine or a 10 that would be a problem. We want to be really together, strong and a competitive group. Riku will add to that.”
Danzaki joins a growing contingent of players from the Far East heading to Scottish football this season. And Hammell admits Motherwell have had to redraw their recruitment strategy with wages down south almost closing the door to the buy young and develop market south of the border.
He said: “The market in the UK is very, very difficult. Our recruitment model a few years ago was the lower leagues in England - signing players there who fit into our wage bracket. We can give them a wage jump and then they’re a potential asset to move on again.
“But the way it is in England and the wages teams are paying there then that door has almost closed as a recruitment strategy. So it is important that we find the right players and people who fit into what we’re trying to do to come here, enjoy their football and potentially be an asset for the club.”
Defender Blaney was the first new face in the door this month after sealing a switch from Well’s Euro conquerers Sligo Rovers. The Irishman made his debut in the Scottish Cup win over Arbroath last week. And he reckons the battling qualities on show at Gayfield will be required every week now as the Steelmen look to drive up the table with just three points separating them and bottom club Ross County.
He said: “That was important. It’s time now to kick on in the league, the group is too good to be where it is. We really need to crack on and get up the table, fight for three points every week and show that mental resilience.”
Motherwell are the only team to have won a league match at St Mirren Park this season - that coming on the opening day of the season. Blaney added: “I’ve not come across St Mirren before but we’ve done our work on them over the week.
“I’ll be fully versed with how they play, and I know they are a good team. It is a tough fixture, like every game is in this league, but we’ll go into it on the back of a positive week. We’re all really looking forward to it and we’ll go into it with the belief we are going to get three points.”
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