Japanese striker Mao Hosoya (22, Kashiwa Reysol) was recommended as a player worth considering signing for AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), ranked 31st in the 2023-24 European Football Federation (UEFA) club rankings.

On August 8 (Korean time), the Dutch ‘Hawiskamer Scout’ reported to Alkmaar that “Hosoya is worth paying attention to. He has the potential to become a top class player.” The Dutch summer transfer window closes on September 1 this year.

‘Hawiskamer Scout’ is a football talent search company established in Groningen, Netherlands in 2011. The Netherlands is ranked 5th in the European league rankings.

Hosoya was recognized as the best potential on the Japanese stage with the 2022 J1 League Young Player Award. In the same year, he also made his national team A match debut in the East Asian Football Confederation (EAFF) E-1 Championship against China (0-0 draw).

“The question remains (whether he will leave right now),” said the ‘lower-scammer scout. Hosoya could complete the remainder of the season at Kashiwa Reysol and enter Europe through the transfer window in January 2024.”스포츠토토

5-year-old scout Marc Pinue (Portugal) compared Hosoya to French football superstar Kilian Mbafe (25, Paris Saint-Germain) based on the commonality of being a center forward with a height of 177 cm.

Pinue is the East Asia manager of ‘Youth Scouting’. “It has some meaning (though not very important) that Hosoya is called ‘Japan’s Mbappe’. The amazing speed is also similar,” he explained.

Pinyu emphasized that Hosoya was gifted as a forward, saying, “Not all professional players have an attacking instinct.”

“I usually recommend Japanese players to advance to Belgium,” Pinue said, “but Hosoya can make the most of his strengths in the English Premier League or the German Bundesliga to seize good chances.”

Belgium is 8th in the European league rankings, England is 1st and Germany is 4th. Pinue predicted, “If it is Augsburg (Germany), it is worth recruiting by giving Hosoya a chance to prove his skills or by sending him a one-year lease to another team after signing the contract.”