23/24 - Yuta's knocking on the door

Zak Armitage, Feature Writer

Twitter: @SportWriterZak

Knock, Knock.

Who’s there?

I’ll leave the joke there, I’ve got some views on Yuta that I’d like to share…

When it comes to overseas signings, Town seem to have a hit-and-miss record. While some recruits have established themselves as Huddersfield Town icons, one of which inspired the name of our podcast, others have flopped drastically, with a certain Frenchman springing to mind.

Since Town’s return to the Championship in 2019, the club have started to move away from the overseas transfer scene and instead refocus their interest on domestic-based players. We do, however, still have the occasional foray into the international market and a recent example of that would be the signing of Japanese defender Yuta Nakayama from Dutch outfit PEC Zwolle last July.

The signing of the 26-year-old, who hails from the small Japanese city of Ryūgasaki, was an arrival that really captured my interest last summer. It was an unexpected signing and a reminder that Town still observes what’s happening in Mainland Europe.

I was intrigued to see how Yuta would get on in West Yorkshire, and his form at the start of last season was a joy to watch. I thought he made an instant impact in the Town team, albeit a struggling Town team.

In what was a dismal start to last season, Yuta, for me, was a shining light. A revelation. He seemed to be adapting more and more to English football (and England in general) with every game he played, and that was under the guidance of Danny Schofield and Mark Fotheringham, two of Town’s worst modern-day coaches. Had it been possible, I would argue that we would've seen an even better version of Nakayama under Neil Warnock and I believe that he would’ve run Michal Helik close for the Hargreaves Memorial Player of the Year award. He may have even edged it. That’s how impressive he was prior to his injury.

To my memory, Yuta's best performance (so far) in a Town shirt came back in August against Stoke and a quick check on WhoScored certainly backs that up, with his stats from that afternoon making for happy reading. In that game, Yuta managed to rack up six clearances, an 84.8% successful pass rate, a goal and a 7.94 rating. We didn't see many better individual performances than that all season. It makes me wonder how many more performances of that level we could've seen for him had it not been for that injury. That damn injury...

Picture: Bruce Rollinson

Asides from missing out on the chance to represent his nation at the World Cup, Yuta was also absent for Town for over half of the season and that absence was certainly felt, especially up to the arrival of Neil Warnock, who somehow rallied his troops and revitalised a squad that seemed to be broken. I wish Yuta would’ve been a part of that.

Be it at left-back or centre-back, Yuta was a very strong option for Town at the start of last season and his proficiency to play to a high standard in either role came in incredibly handy. I’m sure it played a role in why Town brought him to West Yorkshire in the first place. After all, we do like a bit of versatility in our players.

The upcoming summer proves to be an exciting one for Town and one of change, as I’m quite sure that our prospective new owner, Kevin Nagle, is eagerly awaiting the green light to get to work and to (hopefully) put the right people in the right places, in a structural rebuild before next season. Undoubtedly, that will affect the playing squad as well, with arrivals and departures aplenty to be expected over the next few months. I hope the club ensure that Yuta is one of the players who does remain in HD1 beyond the summer, as I believe with a full pre-season and a bit more prosperity with injuries, he could be a standout player for us next season. He would almost be like a new signing to Neil Warnock’s predecessor at the JSS.

Whoever follows on from Neil Warnock at Town will have a huge task on their hands this summer. Neil has said that himself. When they arrive at Canalside, they’ll have to quickly assess the squad and determine which players they feel can play a key role in their team for next season. For every player, this offers a clean slate and a new opportunity to work their way back into the squad. As we saw in the second half of last season with the likes of Josh Koroma and REG. For that reason, it’s imperative that Yuta has a strong pre-season as he has a golden opportunity to showcase his qualities to Town’s new manager, whoever that may be, and earn himself a starting place in the team once again at the start of next season.

Over the summer, a handful of players will leave the club. For some, it's likely we’ve already seen them play their last games for us. With that in mind, I sincerely hope that we haven’t seen the last of Yuta Nakayama in a Town shirt. I sincerely hope his last match for Town wasn’t that miserable midweek home defeat against Sunderland last November. A game where Alex Pritchard played his best game at the JSS.

At the start of last season, Yuta was one of the few positives in what a miserable opening to the campaign. We saw glimpses of his quality, glimpses of why Town brought him to the club in the first place. Under the right coach, and if he can avoid any more long-term injuries, I think we could see those glimpses come to fruition on a regular basis.

Next season will be an exciting new chapter in the history of our football club. I hope Yuta Nakayama is a part of that, as I’m quite confident that the very best of him in a Town shirt is yet to come. Hopefully, he gets the chance to prove me right on this... 🎌

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