Saudi Ronaldo's team begins to target the 'Japanese ace'...Brighton's first offer to give 97.8 billion won was rejected → Follow-up
Saudi Ronaldo's team begins to target the 'Japanese ace'...Brighton's first offer to give 97.8 billion won was rejected → Follow-up
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Japanese national soccer team striker Kaoru Mitoma has begun receiving tremendous love calls from the Saudi Arabian professional league, which includes Cristiano Ronaldo. Although rejected once, Saudi Arabia has no intention of giving up.
The BBC reported on the 31st (Korea Standard Time) that Brighton and Hove Albion (hereinafter referred to as Brighton) rejected the offer of the Saudi professional league Al Nasr, which came into Mitoma.
"Al-Nasr's proposal is known to be 65 million euros (about 97.6 billion won), but an informed official said Brighton had no reason to sell Mitoma right away and rejected the offer," the media said. "But Al-Nasr will return with a higher offer."
"Brighton is confident in its current position and thinks Mitoma has no desire to leave, but at least Mitoma has to seriously consider the amount involved and the possibility of a deal cannot be completely ruled out," he said, predicting that Mitoma could falter if a higher offer comes in.
Mitoma is currently playing as Brighton's ace. He renewed his contract in October 2023 and will play until the summer of 2027. Officials at Brighton are also aware of his commercial influence by conducting a pre-season tour ahead of this season in Japan.
A winger born in 1997, Mitoma is one of the stars of Japanese soccer that received attention when he moved to Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer of 2021. He is a cracker who produces many offensive points with his fast speed and flamboyant dribbling ability on the left.
Mitoma, who grew up in Kawasaki Frontale, went to Tsukuba University and made his professional debut for Kawasaki in 2019, made his best professional debut in the J1 League in the 2020 season with 13 goals and 13 assists in 30 games.
In the 2021 season, Mitoma played with eight goals and four assists in 20 J1 League games, then moved to Brighton that summer, and immediately loaned to Winion SG (Belgium) for a season to gain experience on the European stage.
After returning to Brighton in the summer of 2022, Mitoma played an active role under Roberto De Zerby. Having successfully settled down with seven goals and six assists in 33 league games in the 2022-2023 season, his first season in the Premier League, he has not missed the starting position even under Fabian Wheeler.
This season, Mitoma has scored five goals and three assists in 23 Premier League games and is still a key player for Brighton.
Mitoma is also an ace for the Japanese national team. As a member of the round of 16 teams at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, he is the core of Hajimejo Moriyasu with eight goals in 26 A matches.
Mitoma is on the radar of the Saudi professional league as it is increasing its name value in Europe and Asia. In particular, Al Nasr is a club full of superstars who have left their mark in Europe, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane.
Alnasr is close to recruiting striker John Duran (Aston Villa) in the winter transfer market. Alnasr has raked in a whopping 65 million pounds (or 116.6 billion won) in transfer fees to recruit Duran, and his move is imminent.
Of course, Saudi Arabia is not the only country that is aiming for Mitoma. Other teams in the Premier League are paying attention to his capabilities.
In December last year, British media Tim Talk reported that Manchester United is considering Mitoma as a replacement for Marcus Rashford, who is likely to leave the team. 메이저놀이터
Addressing the news that the soccer media "The Hard Tackle" Manchester United is aiming for Mitoma, he said, "The 27-year-old Mitoma's stock price has soared while playing for Brighton, and he has gotten better and better over the past two and a half years," adding, "Mitoma has played close to 100 games for Brighton so far, scoring 16 goals and 15 assists."
"Mitoma has not been under the spotlight so far, and it has attracted the attention of famous clubs across Europe," he added. "In particular, big Premier League clubs are eager to recruit Mitoma, and Mitoma has been on Manchester United's radar for a long time."
"It is understandable that Manchester United is interested in Mitoma," he said, adding, "Manchester United is looking for a new striker ahead of two transfer markets with Rashford's future uncertain."
Meanwhile, Alnasr is also aiming for Mitoma at the end of the winter transfer market, and the situation is expected to be interesting until the end of the transfer market. The deadline for the Saudi professional league's winter transfer market is early February 1.