Bristol City submit bid to sign Japanese winger | OneFootball

The Robins have reportedly submitted an offer for Yu Hirakawa's services

Bristol City have submitted an offer to acquire the services of Japanese winger Yu Hirakawa.

That's according to Japanese sports news outlet, Sponichi, who claim that a deal between the Robins and the winger's current side, Machida Zelvia, are in the final stages after Liam Manning's side made their move for the Japanese youth international.

The former Oxford United and MK Dons boss made his intentions clear prior to the opening of the summer transfer window, as the West Country outfit look to bolster their options when it comes to sourcing adequate creative players and forwards to aid a push for the play-offs in the 2024/25 campaign.

Those intentions have already been put into practice behind the scenes at Ashton Gate, with Rapid Vienna centre-forward Fally Mayulu said to be in the process of completing his medical last week prior to finalising his move to the Championship, just days after the Robins missed out on acquiring new Schalke 04 man, Moussa Sylla.

However, the aforementioned deal with Mayulu and the potential acquisition of Hirakawa will no doubt give supporters plenty of excitement as pre-season gets underway for the second tier outfit.

Bristol City submit offer for Yu Hirakawa

As mentioned above, Japanese outlet Sponichi have revealed that City have submitted an offer for the 23-year-old in recent days.

Hirakawa, a current Japan U23 international, has been targeted on an initial loan deal with an option to buy next summer, which is currently being discussed between representatives of the two sides. However, the report does state that those negotiations are nearing a conclusion.

Furthermore, the outlet have dished out some description of the winger's game over in the J1.League, describing him as a "modern-style winger who is strong in defence, with his fine touch and unique dribbling skills."

Towards the back end of the report, it has also been stated that if the deal does see Hirakawa move from the Tokyo-based outfit to BS3, it will be the first time in Madicha Zelvia's history that a player has completed an overseas transfer, although they are understandably keen on retaining their star performer as they currently sit top of the J1.League standings.

Yu Hirakawa's career so far

The prior description of Hirakawa's play style will no doubt intrigue the Ashton Gate faithful, and the winger definitely has the current pedigree and statistics to back up such feelings, regardless of being an unknown to many on these shores.

Similarly to his club side, the former Saga Higashi HS man's momentum in the last year has been rapid, aiding Machida's first ever promotion to the Japanese top flight in 2023 with the accumulation of six goals and four assists in 35 J2.League outings.

Whilst his metrics haven't quite matched those of the second tier this term, the versatile wide man has still played his part in the club's dream start to life in their maiden J1.League campaign with two goals and four assists in 17 of the 21 games played so far.

Furthermore, Hirakawa was a prominent figure in Japan's 2023 and 2024 Asian Cup campaign, and is expected to be named in his country's squad for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

He also netted against Mali's Under-23 side in an international friendly on March 22nd.

An exciting summer for Bristol City supporters

The route which Manning and the recruitment team at Ashton Gate are deciding to navigate makes this summer extremely exciting for the supporters, as the club looks to make a sustained bid for the play-offs.

Hirakawa has enjoyed a fine string of consistent performances, which is exactly what Bristol City have been crying out for, after years of inconsistency and, at times, a distinct lack of flair players in the side.

If his signature is to be obtained in the coming days, then, unsurprisingly, he will be deemed as one to watch in the Olympics, with the hope that the 23-year-old can translate such form into the Championship and emulate his compatriot, Coventry City's Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.

Either way, an exciting summer is in prospect ahead of the Robins' first game of the season, an away trip to Hull City on August 10th.