Asia has produced some top footballing talent over the years, from Hidetoshi Nakata and Keisuke Honda to Son Heung-min, Park Ji-Sung, Hidetoshi Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura, Shinji Kagawa, Cha Bum-Kun and Ali Daei (who held the record for most international goals before it was recently broken by Cristiano Ronaldo). They are still so many great asian football youngsters who are playing well.
Here, TOP SOCCER BLOG brings you the top 10 young Asian footballers in 2021.
1. TAFEKUSO KUBO
Kubo is a 20-year-old Japanese winger who plays for La Liga side RCD Mallorca (on loan from Real Madrid).
Haven starred as a youngster in his native Japan, Kubo was signed by Barcelona to enrol at their famous La Masia academy. But the club were later sanctioned by FIFA for violating the international transfer policy for U-18 players, thus terminating his contract and making the player ineligible for the club.
He returned to Japan and rejuvenated his career, and subsequently earned himself a move to Real Madrid.
He has since been loaned out severally and is currently on loan at Mallorca.
2. KANG-IN LEE
Kangin Lee is another popular Asian youngster for followers of La Liga haven joined Valencia at the age of 10. The South Korean won the Asian Young Football of the Year in 2019 after guiding South Korea to a runners-up place at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup — where he won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament. He also won the Copa del Rey with Valencia the same year.
The 20-year-old joined Mallorca this summer after he terminates his contract with Valencia.
3. TAKEHIRO TOMIYASU
Tomiyasu is a versatile player who has been converted from a centre-back to a right-back. He started his career in his native Japan and moved to Belgian side St Truiden. He moved to Serie A side Bologna, and his performances in Italy convinced Arsenal to sign him this summer.
He has hit the ground running at the Emirates stadium with his impressive performances and won the Arsenal Player of the Month in September. Takehiro Tomiyasu is a also a regular for the Japanese national team.
4. RITSU DOAN
Doan is an exciting attacking midfielder from Japan. He won the Asian Young Footballer of the Year in 2016 and starred at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
His displays earned him a move to Dutch Eredivise side FC Groningen. At Groningen, he equalled the record for the most goals scored by a teenager for the club that was previously set by Arjen Robben.
He was signed up by PSV and spent last season on loan at Bundesliga side Armenia Bielefeld.
5. KEITO NAKAMURA
Nakamura is a 21-year-old Japanese player who started his playing career in his native country. He was signed on loan by Austrian second division side, FC Juniors OO. He impressed on loan and earned himself a transfer to Austrian giants, LASK.
6. KIM MIN-JAE
Kim Min-jae is a South Korean defender nicknamed “Monster” due to his big stature. He started his career in his country, winning the K-League twice before moving to Chinese side Beijing Guoan in January 2019. He helped his side to a runner-up finish in the 2019 Chinese Super League.
He joined Turkish side Fenerbahce this summer and has quickly established himself in the first team.
7. HIROKI ABE
Abe is a 22-year-old Japanese winger who plays for Barcelona B team. He started his career in his home country, and his dazzling displays convinced Barca to sign him in 2019. Although injuries has hampered his development at the club, Hiroki is obviously a talented youngster.
8. SAUD ABDULHAMID
Saud AbdulHamid is 22-year-old Saudi Arabian defender who plays for Saudi Professional Football League side Al-Ittihad. The youngster is highly rated in his country.
9. JUN NISHIKAWA
Nishikawa is a 19-year-old Japanese midfielder who currently plays for top Japanese football club, Cerezo Osaka. His impressive performances at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup as kept him under the radar of Barcelona who are closely monitoring his progress.
10. TAKUHIRO NAKAI
Takuhiro Nakai, popularly called “Pipi” in Spain is a Japanese youngster on the books of Real Madrid. He currently plays for the B team, Real Madrid Castilla. The 18-year-old is highly rated by the Spanish giants.
NOTABLE MENTIONS:
- Lee Seung-Woo
- Jeong Woo-Yeong
- Song Min Kyu
- Ali Majrashi
- Bagus Kahfi
- Luqman Hakim.
The list is made up of mostly Japanese players owing to the country’s impressive infrastructures and facilities put in place to discover and develop youngsters and also their league, which is arguably the most popular in the Asian region.
