The Shortlist: Kota Takai
The next big centre-back coming out of Japan, for your shortlists
This is The Shortlist — the quick, digestible way to get to know football’s hottest property, as told by the scouts who’ve watched them.
Llew Davies is SCOUTED’s Scouting Editor. He watches a lot of football, and now he wants to tell you all about the next big thing coming out of Japan.
SCOUTED: Hello Llew. Tell me - why is Kota Takai going on The Shortlist?
LLEW DAVIES: Because he’s one of the most promising emerging talents in Japanese football right now.
That’s it?
Would you like me to elaborate?
I mean, that’s why we’re here.
Alright. He’s promising not least because he’s played a lot of J.LEAGUE minutes already, which is quite unusual for younger players. I know the J.LEAGUE has a reputation for being a youthful league but honestly it’s the opposite - if someone is playing young there, it immediately stands out.
Takai has played more than a thousand minutes in each of the last two J.LEAGUE seasons, including this one, for Kowasaki Frontale, which is impressive; they’re one of the better teams in the league. He’s also been a standout for Japan’s youth teams, where he’s played a lot at U-20 level - I first caught him last year at the U-20 World Cup. He recently made his senior Japan debut to become one of the youngest debutants of the past few decades. So he’s on a good path and he’s doing all the right things.
