Three under-the-radar signings that you and I might have missed (Part 3)
An East Asia-focused edition because Asian football needs more love and attention!
The first summer transfer window did not disappoint anyone. Clubs who participated in the Club World Cup went hard and splashed the cash for their long-term targets while also made the most of opportunities that came up during the 10-day window. Other clubs have also made their first moves into their summer business foray, which serves to be the curtain raiser for what is to come once July rolls around (or June 16th for English and French clubs).
But…while most transfer activities are happening in Europe, the summer window is also opened for Asian clubs as well. Since the first two editions of this series have covered seven under-the-radar moves in Europe, let’s take a quick detour to East Asia and see what Asian clubs are doing halfway across the world!
Note: All stats and data used here are from Opta via FBRef and Fotmob unless stated otherwise.
Ryoya Ogawa
(Sint-Truiden → Kashima Antlers)
Since manager Toru Oniki arrived at the beginning of the 2025 season, Kashima Antlers have seen their fortunes flipped as they found themselves top of the table after 20 matches played at the time of writing. Instead of arriving at a new club and applying a style that he was known for at Kawasaki Frontale (which also made him and the club one of the most successful sides in modern J1 League history), Oniki chose to be pragmatic, adapted to how Kashima have played in the past, and kept the things that have been working for the team.
A more defensive-oriented, direct style of play was implemented (shown by the average possession graph above from an Antlers-focused project of mine that might be stuck in the ‘Draft Dungeon’ for the foreseeable future), which made Antlers one of the best defensive sides in the sides in the league so far with just 18 goals conceded after 21 matches. A style that is built on top of a solid defensive foundation that consists of overperforming goalkeeper Tomoki Hayakawa, a centre-back partnership of Naomichi Ueda and Ikuma Sekigawa, and two flying full-backs Koki Anzai and Kimito Nono. But as injuries started to kick in, particularly for Sekigawa and Anzai, it exposed Kashima’s lack of depth and reinforcements are needed for a long J1 season ahead. And that’s where Ryoya Ogawa comes in at left-back.
Ogawa spent the last three seasons playing abroad for Vitória SC in Portugal and, most recently, St-Truiden in Belgium with the 2024-25 season being the first season that he got to play regularly. In total, Ogawa played in a total of 2449 minutes, which was the second-most in the squad, just behind veteran defender Bruno Godeau, and even ahead of his Japanese compatriots such as goalkeeper Leo Kokubo and midfielder Joel Chima Fujita. But he definitely earned the starting spot in St-Truiden’s 3-4-2-1 system as he contributed to 6 goals (2 goals scored + 4 assists) this season while also provided a bit of defensive solidity for the team.
At St-Truiden, Ogawa mainly played as a left wing-back in their 3-4-2-1 system, but was slowly moved to the left centre-back spot when a more offensive-minded Loïc Lapoussin joined the team. With Ogawa’s profile also being offensive-minded, playing in a back three system gave him more license to run forward and be inside the opposition’s final third while also overshadowed the slightly weaker defensive abilities of his.
However, this might be one of the only few mismatches between Ogawa and the style and the 4-4-2 system that Oniki is currently using at Antlers. Assuming that Ogawa is a direct replacement for Koki Anzai at left-back, it means that he will have to take on more defensive responsibilities than he did at St-Truiden. And as his defensive percentiles have shown above, he might not be the type of player who is willing or good at getting stuck into challenges. But rather, Ogawa seems to be someone who is more of a passive defender as he preferred to block passes and shots from the opposition (1.65 blocks per 90s) and clear the ball away from the box (3.53 clearances per 90s).
It is also worth noting that Ogawa’s stats in the Belgian Pro League might not directly translate to how he will perform in the J1 League, even though both leagues are at a relatively similar level considering how many Japanese players that have moved to the league and succeeded in the past. As such, it is possible that Ogawa might improve his defensive ability in a more defensive-focused system that Oniki is using, and he might be a good addition to a back line that has been the backbone of Antlers’ dominant at the top of the J1 table.
At the opposite end, Ogawa will prove to be a very important player in possession because of his ability to create chances for others around him. During the early weeks of the season, Antlers’ chance creation responsibility was put on the shoulder of one man, Gaku Shibasaki, who was (and still is) a very good playmaker in the league. But to solely rely on one player who is now 33 years old, has been rotated in and out of the team for Yu Funabashi, and can be marked out of the game, is not something that Oniki was known for at Frontale, where almost every player could create chances for either themselves or their teammates. Adding Ogawa to the squad will take a bit of pressure off of Shibasaki and Yuma Suzuki, which are Antlers’ two main creators, allowing for more rotations to happen and for Suzuki to support Léo Ceará in the goalscoring department up front.
Antlers will be getting a player who has the technical ability to beat the opposition’s defenders when taking them on with the ball, as demonstrated by 0.67 successful dribbles per 90s (53.7% of his total dribbles) that Ogawa made last season. Expect him to create plenty of chances from crosses (0.79 successful crosses per 90s, which was 23.9% of his total crosses) as that is one of his in possession strengths, and something that Léo Ceará will be delighted with as a striker who can dominate in the air or be at the right positions to pick up Ogawa’s crosses. Ogawa can also provide a few goals here and there, but it is definitely not something that Antlers and Oniki will expect him to do on a regular basis.
Nonetheless, Oniki is a manager who is also known for getting the best out of the players at his disposal. He was able to do just that at Frontale on multiple occasions, which led to a few transfers abroad for players that I reckon you might know. Getting Ogawa can only be a huge plus for Oniki and Antlers as he will add more experience to a squad that is already filled to the brim with highly-experienced players. His arrival will also come at a good time when rotations and injury replacements are needed for them to maintain their title credentials and Oniki’s quest to bring the club back to its former glory days.
Kasey Bos
(Melbourne Victory → 1. FSV Mainz 05)
Going from one flying left-back to another, and it’s Australia’s newest member of the first team squad, Kasey Bos. Coming off a season where Kasey and Melbourne Victory overcame managerial inconsistency and slow starts to achieve a fifth-placed finish in the A-League Men and runners-up of the Finals Series, Kasey received his first call-up to the Socceroos for the last two World Cup qualifiers matches against Japan and Saudi Arabia, but was unlucky not to get any minutes in both matches.
However, many Aussie fans will hope that it will not be the last time they see Kasey in a Socceroos shirt, especially considering their first choice left-back Aziz Behich is already in his mid-30s and is unsure of how much left does he have in the tank. In only his second season with Melbourne Victory’s first-team, Kasey very quickly made the left-back spot in Arthur Diles’ 4-2-3-1 system his own as he played in a total of 1832 minutes in the A-League last season. There is a reason why many A-League fans sees him as the future Socceroos left-back through his performance with Victory, and it is probably the same reason why Mainz decided to bring the 21-year-old to Germany.
Last season, Victory under Diles’ management played in a system that looked to control possession and expected plenty of free-flowing attacks at the other end, which gave players who had good technical skills like Daniel Arzani, Nishan Velupillay, Zinédine Machach, and Clarismario Santos a lot more rooms to showcase their on-ball abilities. Kasey was not an exemption either as he was given more license to overlap on the left-hand side as Arzani preferred to take on opposition’s defenders and then cut inside to create spaces for Kasey’s overlapping runs. It was here that Kasey’s on-ball quality was on full display as he showed a high level of confidence with his dribbles (1.13 successful dribbles per 90s, 51.1% of his total attempted dribbles), also taking opposition’s defenders on, getting past them to enter the final third, and drawing fouls to generate free-kick situations inside of the opposition’s half (1.47 fouls won per 90s).
Not only was he effective with his dribbles, but Kasey also proved to be one of Victory’s chance creators down the left-hand side through his crosses as he was one of the most effective crossers in the league last season (31.3% cross accuracy per 90s). With Bruno Fornaroli and Nikos Vergos constantly lurking inside of the box, Kasey had two prolific targets to aim for whenever he had the ball out wide, especially with Vergos being more aerially dominant. The young Australian full-back also worked well together with Arzani to create spaces where Victory’s star winger could be at his best.
Besides from being a prolific chance creator down the left, Kasey also played a significant role in Victory’s back line to create the third-toughest defence in the league last season (though I’m not sure being third in the league for goals conceded means much considering the free-flowing nature of the A-League). He was very active in getting stuck into challenges, having won 54.8% of his duels while also completed 64.7% of his tackles per 90s. He also utilised his positioning and intelligence to be at the right places to intercept incoming passes (1.18 interceptions per 90s) and to recover loose balls for the team (5.75 recoveries per 90s). Having to balance out both offensive and defensive responsibilities could be a significant task for a modern full-back, but it seems as if Kasey thrived in accomplishing both duties for Victory last season.
At Mainz, Kasey will be able to focus more on the offensive side of the game in Bo Henriksen’s 3-4-2-1 system. With three centre-backs behind him, the Australian full-back will have more license to make overlapping runs and contribute to the team’s attacking side. His youthful energy down the left-hand side will be what Mainz need for the future as both of their main left wing-back options in Danny da Costa and Philipp Mwene are entering their 30s and might struggle to keep up with the demands of a modern wing-back.
Not only that, but Mainz will also receive a defender who can be an active presser inside of the opposition’s half and can get stuck into challenges to regain possession for the team. These traits of his will benefit Mainz’s style of play significantly should they look to the future and attempt to maintain the level of competitiveness that they showed last season to get a Conference League spot.
However, expecting Kasey to start for Mainz right away might be a big ask for a young player like him. In contrast to his brother, Jordan Bos, who made the step up from Melbourne City to Westerlo in the Belgian Pro League and was able to secure a starting spot not long after, going to the Bundesliga is a bigger step up and Kasey will need a bit of time to adapt to German football and even the Conference League. But Kasey definitely has the potential to challenge a starting spot for Mainz should he get past the adapting phase and start to grow in his new environment more with potentially a full pre-season with Mainz under his belt, which can only be great news to both Mainz and the Socceroos fans.
Patryk Klimala
(Śląsk Wrocław → FC Seoul)
In the grand scheme of things, Patryk Klimala is not really an under-the-radar signing since long were his playing days for Celtic and New York Red Bulls. Yet, even though it felt so long ago that Klimala signed for Scotland’s most successful club, he is still only 26 years old and his last season for Celtic was just 5 years ago. As such, it came as a surprise when the Polish striker arrived in the A-League last season and signed for Sydney FC on loan from Polish club Śląsk Wroclaw.
It felt like a bargain for Sydney as a striker of his quality did not come across that often, even though his output in recent seasons was quite underwhelming. And not only did he find a level that suited his ability, Klimala showed up and immediately became Sydney’s main goalscorer. A few injuries here and there did not slow his output for the Sky Blues, as he finished the season with 17 goals in all competitions and led the club to a historic semi-final of the AFC Champions League Two, where they lost to eventual runner-up Lion City Sailors of Singapore.
In Ufuk Talay’s 4-2-3-1 system, Klimala occupied the lone striker spot up front and took on the responsibility of leading the line for the Sky Blues. Since his profile aligned closer to a goal poacher, he was a constant threat inside of the penalty box instead of dropping deep to receive the ball and create chances for others. Besides, he did not need to be a chance creator either as there were a plethora of players who played behind him and took on such responsibility, such as Léo Sena, Anthony Caceres, Joe Lolley, and Douglas Costa (yes, that Douglas Costa).
This reflected in his stats last season as well as he only created 0.88 chances and recorded 0.04 xA per 90s, even though he did overperform his chance creation stats by finishing the season with 4 assists. Meanwhile, he was ranked among the top A-League strikers for shots on target (1.81 per 90s), non-penalty expected goals (0.52 npxG per 90s), and goals scored per 90s (0.6 per 90s), which highlighted his proficiency in front of goal.
A quick look at his shots map further explained why Klimala was one of A-League most prolific goalscorers last season. From 43 shots that he made from open-play situations, only 6 shots were made from outside of the penalty box and some were made down the middle of the penalty box, which yielded high possibility of scoring. What was more interesting, however, was Klimala’s tendency of making shots and scored goals from the right-hand side of the penalty box, which was also the side of his preferred foot. Furthermore, despite only standing at 183cm (just over 6 feet), he was quite aerially dominant, having won 46.2% of his aerial duels and even scored 2 more headed goals from set piece situations.
But despite the praises that I have given him so far, arguably Klimala’s most significant weakness was that he was fairly one-dimensional and could not contribute more on other aspects besides goal-scoring. The data above have pointed out that he was not a prolific chance creator for Sydney, and it also highlighted that he was not the dribbliest player in the squad (0.33 successful dribbles per 90s, 30% of his total dribbles attempted), which was to be somewhat expected from a goal poacher like Klimala. Moreover, his defending stats also showed that he was not a very active presser for Sydney, having only recorded 0.05 interceptions and 0.44 possession won inside the final third per 90s.
All of Klimala’s data from last season makes him a perfect impact player who can come off the bench and change the tie for FC Seoul. After losing their main goalscorer in Stanislav Iljutcenko at the end of the 2024 season (who scored 13 goals + 1 penalty), Kim Gi-dong’s side have been struggling for goals this 2025 season with just 19 goals scored after 20 matches, which turns out to be less than a goal per game. Both Lucas Rodrigues (3 goals) and Marko Dugandžić (2 goals) have been largely ineffective in front of goal, while Jesse Lingard has not turned out to be the star player that Seoul was looking for, and they have not had any domestic players who could crack Na Sang-ho’s 12 goals record in the 2023 season before he left to join Machida Zelvia in the J1 League (despite Moon Seon-min being their leading goalscorer at the time of writing with 5 goals).
As Klimala joined halfway through the K1 League season, it will take the Polish striker a bit of time to establish himself and challenge both Rodrigues and Dugandžić for the starting spot alongside Lingard in Kim’s 4-4-2 system. Considering Seoul’s current struggle in front of goal, there is definitely room for Klimala to step up and win that starting spot. Since his A-League season with Sydney had finished just two months ago, he should have little problems picking up the form that he left Australia with after taking his time to adapt to South Korea. Obviously, that ‘should’ depends on Klimala himself to turn this journey with Seoul into a fruitful one or another underwhelming spell like his previous seasons before joining Sydney.
This is a quick diversion from the European transfer window as I want to highlight the activities that are also happening in Asia. The main attention, of course, is on the Middle East where the riches continue to spend money and attract bigger names from Europe. But, at the same time, East Asian clubs are also doing business, and given the restrictions on the number of foreign players each club can have, every clubs have to be cherry picking and finding players who can be a significant contributor to the team’s offensive and/or defensive phase. The domestic transfer window is also worth noticing because it is where future talents and European-bound players can be found, especially from Japan, South Korea, and Australia (yes, Australia is technically not part of Asia, but they are a member of the AFC).
For now, I will be returning to Europe with more analysis on player signings who are slightly young, promising, and under-the-radar. I have lined up 3+1 names for the next edition of this series, so keep an eye out very soon! Until my next article, I wish you a great week.