2025 is coming soon – the 2024 season is approaching the end, and many changes will come through. For the next year, clubs will look towards new heroes, possible bargains, and reboots. That’s indeed what we’re gonna talk about in “Market Week”, a two-days festival over possible moves, why they should happen and the players to watch out for next Winter.
After the first part (you can find it here) around players who might need new beginnings, we talk this time around about the “Loan Market”. We’re gonna mention the players who don’t need a clear cut, but rather some motivation to improve somewhere else, or to come back to their own clubs – because they have done good deeds in 2024.
Loans decide careers, they shape the history of players, and sometimes they even end them. Let’s start with the section called “Revitalize”, which features players between 19 and 24 years old, with less than 10 league games played until now, and all coming from J1 – but looking to a J2 loan.
Hiroya Matsumoto
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Central Midfielder / Age: 24
The Past: Matsumoto joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima already in 2016, when he was still in high school. After youth ranks, then was loaned twice – first to Omiya Ardija and then to Zweigen Kanazawa, twice in J2. Eight goals in 34 matches with Kanazawa drew attention from Hiroshima, who brought him back already in 2023.
Why Going On Loan? Because… he’s not playing. Like at all. Head coach Micheal Skibbe has been using several midfielders, but Matsumoto is not in the German head coach’s thoughts. 147’ of pitch time in J1 over two seasons don’t look good for a 24 years old-player – although Sanfrecce Hiroshima are a super-competitive team.
Where Next? Ventforet Kofu would need some fresh blood, especially after the end of the AFC Champions League journey and with one of the oldest rosters in J2 (oldest line-up of 31,4 years old in 2024). Plus, Sanfrecce have always had a preferential route towards Kofu (Sasaki, Kashiwa, Imazu, etc.).
Ten Miyagi
Kawasaki Frontale
Winger, Striker / Age: 23
The Past: We recently mentioned how Frontale are missing young blood from their youth ranks. Miyagi is an excellent example – he’s a promising talent, but he’s been around too much. First sparkles at Frontale (great goal to win at Antlers, for example), then loans to V-Varen Nagasaki and Montedio Yamagata.
Why Going On Loan? This year, head coach Toru Oniki fielded him for just 66 minutes – a disaster for his development. And given Frontale’s performances this year, it’s something that we struggle to understand anyway. If there was a time to test him, it was 2024. If it hasn’t happened, it means either a new coach for a clean slate, or going somewhere else.
Where Next? Miyagi needs a Miyashiro-treatment – leaving Frontale one year for good to understand if it’s meant for him to come back, or it’s better to find a new adventure. Fujieda MYFC will be for a third year in J2, they probably won’t keep striker Ken Yamura, and they might need a new hero up front.
Reiju Tsuruno
Avispa Fukuoka
Forward / Age: 23
The Past: Avispa Fukuoka have been super successful in the last seasons, enjoying what will become a 5 years-span in J1, and winning the J.League Cup in 2023. Shigetoshi Hasebe has been wonderful, and while he always relied on certain starters, Tsuruno found his way into the rotations
Why Going On Loan? After an encouraging rookie season – with five goals in all competitions, including a fundamental goal in the J.League Cup semifinals against Nagoya Grampus -, Tsuruno has played just nine times in J1. The arrival of Zahedi and Ben Khalifa, the growth of Sato, the presence of Wellington have all impeded him to find pitch time. And he needs it.
Where Next? Roasso Kumamoto don’t usually give space to other talents than their own, but the Oki’s rollercoaster could maybe lose Daichi Ishikawa after two seasons. Furthermore, young prodigy Yutaka Michiwaki is already gone to Belgium, and golden boy Keito Kumashiro will need some time to recover from his meniscus injury.
Ryo Nemoto
Shonan Bellmare
Striker / Age: 24
The Past: Nemoto has been a pro just in the last three seasons, but he made his way through Shonan’s squad after a solid loan with Tochigi SC – where he stayed two years, and scored 11 goals in 51 games of the J2 League. Unfortunately, Bellmare’s stacked offensive department has seen him on the pitch just for 116’ this season in J1.
Why Going On Loan? Shonan will probably avoid relegation again (one day we’ll talk about Satoshi Yamaguchi’s miracles), and up front they have several good players (Lukian, Sho Fukuda, Akito Suzuki). All of the 10 games played by Nemoto in J1 came from the bench – he never started for Shonan. He clearly needs more space, especially after recovering from an ACL injury.
Where Next? Nemoto has already fought with Tochigi to avoid relegations, so maybe he’d need a different challenge next. Tokushima Vortis went through a mediocre season, with no player reaching double digits in terms of goals. Noah Kenshin Browne hasn’t worked out, Daiki Watari will be soon 32 – and it’s a good place to shine for strikers (Utaka, Kawata, Watari in his first stint, and Kaito Mori were all solid examples).
Hinata Kida
Cerezo Osaka
Defensive Midfielder / Age: 24
The Past: Despite been just 17 at the time, Kida was involved with the U-23 side of Cerezo Osaka for at least three years. In 2018, he did well and got a loan to Avispa Fukuoka. When COVID-19 struck on Japanese football, he was sent back to play in J3, but then Kida stayed with Cerezo through thick and thin.
Why Going On Loan? In 2022, he featured just three times all season long due to injuries. Things changed in 2023, when he gathered 16 J1 games under his belt – but then Kogiku fielded him just five times, although three of them came in the last games and all for 90 minutes. He definitely needs more stability to break through.
Where Next? Kida is still young, but he’s got so much pro-football in his resume. And a side like Ehime FC – who often played with a “double 6” under head coach Ishimaru – might need some fresh blood for their second J2 campaign after getting promoted in 2023.
Ryonnosuke Sato
FC Tokyo
Winger / Age: 17
The Past: This is a very unique type of loan we’re advocating for – we know how young Sato is (he’s just 17), he just debuted in J1, and FC Tokyo have the tendency of stacking up talented wingers (they have 6-7 options in that role on both flanks, including fan favorite Kota Tawaratsumida and reborn Ryotaro Araki).
Why Going On Loan? Sato proved already in 2023 – in the Takamado Cup – that he’s got the pedigree to improve and progress further. But he can’t do it in Tokyo if the options are so many for Peter Cklamovski. Furthermore, it’s not like FC Tokyo are finding a clear direction for development…
Where Next? Honestly, we wouldn’t even advice a J2 gig, but rather a J3 one. We don’t know which plans FC Ryukyu have for next year, but they’ve always played a pretty offensive brand of football – they just lost Haruto Shirai to Sapporo mid-season, and they launched several players in those positions.
The other section is called “Prodigal Sons”, which features players who were on loan this season from J1 clubs and deserve to come back for a new chapter in their home teams. You might see the absence of some prospects – we already advice Motohiko Nakajima to come home in 2022, we can’t do it every year.
Jelani Reshaun Sumiyoshi
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Center-back / Age: 27
The Past – Sumiyoshi already debuted with Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He had a first year with Mito HollyHock in 2020, then left to join Hiroshima. He never played too much under Skibbe, having featured eight times in J1 in 2022, and then six last years. That’s why he went on loan to S-Pulse – where he found Tadahiro Akiba (who coached him at Mito in 2020) and he’s starting.
Why Coming Back? – Sure, S-Pulse could also try to keep him around, since the promotion is just around the corner. And in Hiroshima, under Skibbe, Sumiyoshi would have to fight for a spot in the rotation, but Sanfrecce are becoming older and older – they might need some new faces, even on a championship team.
What’s Next – In fact, Hiroshima are a bit short for playing with a three-CBs formation. Sasaki is 34 already, Shiotani is 35. Araki is a pillar of the team, but he can’t play alone. Skibbe is using as well Nakano and Arai as centre-backs, but they’re replacements. Sumiyoshi could even earn a starting spot if he’ll make a good impression in the first week of the 2025 season.
Ken Yamura
Albirex Niigata
Striker / Age: 27
The Past – A ductile striker, Yamura had already his moments with Albirex Niigata. He enrolled at the Niigata University of Health & Welfare, then joined Albirex as a special designated player. He started having some minutes in 2020, then turned into a joker for the injury time (his goal against Tokyo Verdy in 2022 granted a win in one of the most famous comeback games of the last years).
Why Coming Back? – Yamura left Niigata on loan in 2023, when it was clear he would have never found the right pitch time with Koji Suzuki and Kaito Taniguchi as options. He joined Fujieda MYFC, where he scored nine goals in the first year – although he struggled to be starter, given Ryo Watanabe’s rise – and then bagged 15 goals until now in 2024. He could become a J.League cult striker.
What’s Next – Niigata should take him back. Albirex doesn’t have strong options up front besides Kaito Taniguchi – Suzuki is 35, Yuji Ono isn’t a no.9 and Motoki Nagakura needs to play more somewhere else. Yamura – although being a player who needs to be more consistent (he hasn’t scored in the first 12 games of J2 this season) – represents an easy back-up choice for the no. 9 spot.
Tomoki Tagawa
Yokohama F. Marinos
Goalkeeper / Age: 22
The Past – Marinos had Tagawa since his time in high school, then decided to loan him in J3, where he has played two seasons with Kataller Toyama. Although the club struggled to secure a return to J2, Tagawa gathered 15 clean sheets this year, being one of the best goalkeepers in the third division.
Why Coming Back? – After two seasons in Toyama, it’d be anyway the time to move on. At the same time, the technical crisis of Yokohama F. Marinos is well-visible in the goalkeeping position. Once Park Iru-gyu left for Sagan Tosu, and they haven’t kept Jun Ichimori in Yokohama from his loan, Marinos struggled to find some safe hands.
What’s Next – Right now, Marinos had four different keepers in goal this season. William Popp had a one season-wonder last season with Zelvia. Fuma Shiarasaka was an interesting prospect, but barely played in the last 18 months in Yokohama. Riku Terakado was a disaster in the ACL debut. And the situation is so bad, that Marinos needed to start again Hiroki Iikura at 38 years old. Tagawa can’t do worse than this.
Wataru Iwashita
Kashiwa Reysol
Left-Back, Left-Wing / Age: 25
The Past – Born and raised in Kumamoto, Iwashita enrolled at the Toin University in Yokohama, and then came back home to Roasso Kumamoto, just to sign his first pro-contract. He was part of the squad that brought Roasso back into J2, before signing for Kashiwa Reysol and struggling to find proper time on the pitch (just five caps in J1 between 2022 & 2023).
Why Coming Back? – To regain his form, Iwashita came back to Kumamoto (for the third time), this time on loan from Kashiwa. It worked – Oki fielded him as a starter and he’s played 32 games until now. At Roasso, in his second stint, the head coach started Iwashita first as a left wing-back, then as a centre-back.
What’s Next – The return to Kashiwa Reysol could come at the right time. Squad is getting older – former Vortis’ Diego has started most of the matches, while Eiichi Katayama hasn’t been used that much. And both him and Hiromu Mitsumaru are over 30, so some youth might be needed.
Renji Matsui
Kawasaki Frontale
Defensive Midfielder / Age: 24
The Past – After joining Kawasaki Frontale from the Hosei University, Matsui featured in a small number of matches, especially in the cups (Emperor’s Cup & AFC Champions League). Then Frontale loaned him to Machida Zelvia last season, while the club was in the run towards their first promotion to J1. It worked – 17 games, one goal, and many minutes in his legs.
Why Coming Back? – Frontale didn’t want to cut his development, so Matsui was loaned again to J2 – this time to Vegalta Sendai. He became a started, played more than 2000 minutes, and Sendai are on the run to get at least a play-offs spot. But Frontale will need some fresh faces for 2025, especially after the news that head coach Toru Oniki will be leaving after eight years.
What’s Next – Frontale lost Tatsuki Seko to Stoke City, plus Ryota Oshima will be 32 years old next season, and we don’t know how long Kento Tachibanada will avoid European sirens on the market place. Zé Ricardo and Yuki Yamamoto haven’t played many minutes, so there’s a space to enter rotations and gradually grow with a new coach.
Toya Izumi
Vissel Kobe
Winger / Age: 23
The Past – It’s incredible we’re talking about him from a J3 loan, because Izumi was completely somewhere else last year. Enrolled into the Biwako Seikei Sport College, the young winger was then signed by Vissel Kobe in 2023, where head coach Takayuki Yoshida gave him some minutes from the bench. Izumi even scored a winning-goal away at Sagan Tosu to give Kobe an important win on Match-day 5.
Why Coming Back? – Yoshida though didn’t want to burn him out, so he loaned him mid-season to Montedio Yamagata in J2, where Izumi played just a bunch of minutes. Probably J3 was needed to get a starting spot, so Vissel loaned the young winger to Omiya Ardija, who just got relegated. Izumi impressed right away – bagged five goals and five assists in a season that saw Omiya winning the league with some margin.
What’s Next – Vissel play mostly with a 4-3-3, fielding Muto wide to come closer to Osako in the centre of the pitch, and then a winger to create offensive volume on the other flank. That winger has been Koya Yuruki, who then was drawn away from rotation in favour of Taisei Miyashiro. Jean Patric has been mostly a joker from the bench, and neither Daiju Sasaki or Haruya Ide found a starting spot. There might be space for a youngster like Izumi to find some minutes, especially with Vissel getting a spot in the ACL 2025-26.
“Market Week” is done for 2024 – you noticed how we ditched the format over players to Europe (Japan has becoming to good for that – *wink wink*). If you want to look at this format from previous years, enjoy the reading in this category here.
