BIOGRAPHY
Date of Birth/Age: 26/12/00 (23yo)
Nationality: Japanese
Team: Nagoya Grampus
Position: RCB or LCB in a back 3 setup
Height: 6'2"
General statistics for the 2023 season via transfermarkt.co.uk
Positional heatmap for the 2023 season via sofascore.com
A product of the Nagoya Grampus youth system, Haruya Fujii has worked his way up into becoming a vital member of Kenta Hasegawa's side, playing almost every minute of every league over the past two seasons. Despite not being named in Japan's squad for the 2024 Asian Cup, Fujii has begun his integration into the national fold, making his debut in a New Years Day battering of Thailand. Fujii's performances over the past year did not just catch the eye of Hajime Moriyasu, Belgian giant Anderlecht have recently linked to the Centre Half, signalling that a move to one of Europe's top-8 leagues is imminent.
PHYSICAL TRAITS
Above average athlete with great acceleration ability
While not the most breathtaking athlete, Fujii can certainly hold his own in a footrace. Decently long strides combined with an innate ability to change gears at a moments notice puts him in good position to deal with runners in behind, as well as catch people off guard with runs of his own.
His foot-speed is impressive, allowing him to alter his step frequency and change direction sharply; unfortunately, Fujii lacks the fluidity in his hips to match his foot-speed, and thus more impressive athletes will have the edge on him in this regard.
Fujii is at his athletic best when moving in straight lines, as you'd expect from a Centre Half - explosive lateral movement is not his forte.
Well proportioned and stocky build
Fujii possesses a stocky and well-proportioned frame, far from the long legged build we've come to expect from aggressive duellers like him.
As his centre of gravity is lower because of his build, Fujii is better going shoulder-to-shoulder than his lankier counterparts due to having better leverage, can get under the opposition player's arms with his own and manipulate their balance.
Very similar in frame to the Nathan Ake's of the world, should suggest that he is well equipped physically to defending 1v1 in wide channels; again, a lower centre of gravity can only help in these areas.
Strong legs and base but not dominant physically
Fujii's legs are noticeably strong just from first glance and this shows up often during games; seems almost heavy when he commits to a challenge, feet are strong and thus stops players from running through his challenges.
Having strong legs/base, combined with great natural balance, allows Fujii to hold up against contact. He is hard to move.
Despite these strengths, do not expect Fujii to overwhelm opposition players physically unless they are much smaller than him; he simply doesn't possess that level of explosion and power to do so.
IN POSSESSION
Elegant and composed on the ball, natural desire for the ball to be at his feet whenever possible
Nagoya are not a side that treasures the ball at all, all of their play is focused around moving vertically whenever possible, be that in transition or balls in over the top, with the purpose of getting Ryoya Morishita and Kasper Junker involved as frequently as possible in the final third. Fujii, however, does have an innate want for the ball to be in control and at his feet. Averaging 48.2 passes per 90 does not seem much at all when observing through the lens of a possession-based side, but for someone seemingly at odds with his own teams style of football it is more than good. Expect these numbers to skyrocket under a new system.
Due to his tendency to treasure possession, Fujii shows great technical empathy with his passes. This is not the type of Centre Half that launches the ball at his teammates shins with the understanding that as long as the ball reaches it's man then they have done their job; no matter the distance and difficulty of the pass, Fujii tries to make it as easy to receive as possible.
He is comfortable receiving and playing with both feet and always receives with his head up and a knowledge of his surroundings due to frequent scanning.
Deep progressor and line-breaker
Given his comfort on the ball and the fact that he plays in a position that allows him to have the entire pitch in front of him, it should come as no surprise that Fujii is adept at breaking the lines in that Quaterback-esque style.
He has a wide array of passes in his locker that he uses to open up defences and kick-start attacks; be that drilled passes into the strikers feet, lofted balls down the line, switches of play, line-breaking passes into the half-space, etc.
Using his body shape, Fujii can disguise passes well and manipulate where defenders move, opening up passing lines that otherwise would not have existed.
There is a slight angle-bias in regard to Fujii's passing ability. When playing off the left he tends to close off angles for himself, whereas on the right he can play a variety of passes from any body shape. This is, in part, due to his reluctance to break the lines with his weaker left foot, despite his comfort using it in other phases of play.
Due to this angle-bias, some of Fujii's attempts at splitting the lines from the left are telegraphed and easily intercepted, and as a result most of his progression from the left comes from balls over the top where this threat of being intercepted in the middle of the pitch does not exist.
Unflappable in the face of the press
When faced with pressure, Fujii always waits until the last possible moment to act, dragging the defender(s) in closer and closer, opening up space for his teammates.
This is only possible because of his naturally calm and confident demeanor. Fujii is completely self-assured in possession and swagger oozes from him, something seldom seen in younger and less experienced defenders.
His press resistance is best seen when caught in a pressing trap on the sideline, something he is seemingly always able to escape from.
Fujii can not just pass through the press, he can also carry through it with the same confidence and control. He is dual-threat on the ball and this makes him a difficult nut to crack, even if the press is perfectly organised there is still the threat of him bursting past a defender and breaking the shape.
Comfortable ball carrier, loves to glide deep into the opposition half
Fujii will carry into any space gifted to him with a graceful stride, eating up ground, in an attempt to draw defenders away from their position and allowing him to then play into the space they have vacated.
As mentioned previously, due to his strong base and great balance, he is able to ride tackles and gouge holes in the oppositions shape. The contact balance is notable, only possible due to his stocky build.
In all facets on the ball Fujii seems to be a natural, as he carries with his head up at (nearly) all times, something certain wingers on his team struggle with. This gives him full vision of the game in front of him and is a vital part of being a good ball carrier. What it also does is allow for Fujii to utilise his favourite move - with his head up he can shape up as if he was about to pass up field, baiting an opposition player into commit to blocking the pass they assume is coming, allowing Fujii to glide past them in the opposite direction. Simple, but very effective.
It is not just these simple tricks that Fujii has up his sleeve however. Body feints, reverse stepovers, sharp changes of pace and direction - all in his arsenal.
One thing to note is that Fujii can overdo it with the dribbling at times and will get caught in dangerous areas. Of course this is bound to happen with any player that likes to carry the ball, but the risk is far higher here given Fujii's position, maybe something that should be reined it at the next level.
Surprisingly effective goal threat from distance
Something that caught me off guard when watching Fujii was how refined his ball striking is, especially from distance. It's rather unusual for a Centre Half to be impactful in this area of the game but Fujii certainly is.
Will arrive in space outside the area fairly often, looking for opportunities to test the keeper.
Very consistent ball striking technique: rarely off balance, head over the ball, drives through the strike with conviction, able to generate lots of power due to those strong legs but without sacrificing accuracy - impressive.
Not something that is a major part of his game obviously but is still something that the opposition will have to respect, a few teams gave him acres of space around the box thinking that he could not hurt them from there and they payed the price.
OUT OF POSSESSION
Active and willing tackler
As discussed earlier, Fujii's strong feet allow him to win duels consistently when he commits full. He is rarely dribbled through, the attackers he's facing simply don't have the foot strength to power through.
He very much fits the bill of an 'aggressor', winning 2.2 tackles per 90 at a 75.3% success rate. Being in a back 3/5 system very much fits Fujii's mentality as he always wants to engage on the front foot whenever possible, stepping out of the line this often in a back 4 comes with more risk.
Always engages with his right foot, he clearly isn't as comfortable with his left. This can cause some awkward engagements at angles where using his left foot would be preferable - he is still able to win these engagements often though.
Would like to see him add the Maldini scoop tackle to his arsenal if he's to continue only engaging with his right foot, it could aid him in duels along the sideline when playing off the left.
Inconsistent technique when jockeying in wide channels
Due to being an outside CB in a back 3, Fujii often is pulled into the wide channels and forced to defend 1v1 against a winger. Overall, he is very inconsistent in these duels.
His footwork in these scenarios leave a lot to be desired. Often he will cross his feet over instead of keeping a solid base, giving the attacker a chance to twist and turn him. When defending out on the touchline, especially against wingers who will have the agility, foot-speed, and lateral movement advantage, good footwork is required. Being caught flat-footed or crossing your feet over is asking for trouble, certainly something that needs to be addressed so long as Fujii is being dragged into these engagements.
In these wide areas Fujii's aggressive mentality towards duels can often be to his detriment. Wingers understand that he wants to jump out and attempt to win the ball as early in the 1v1 as possible, and thus will simply wait for him engage and drift past him. Of course, being a strong tackler Fujii will win these duels fairly often, but it is still something that can be exploited.
Fujii always wants to flip his hips towards the byline when in a 1v1 scenario. This puts him in better position to win a footrace should the opposition player look to go outside and towards the byline to cross, but leaves him with little options to deal with the opposition player cutting inside behind him as he would have to completely flip his hips back around to engage.
To stop wingers from cutting inside behind him, Fujii keeps his weight on his front foot and uses his back foot to engage, cutting off the angle to cut inside to some extent. Because of this, Fujii fares better in 1v1s when he is on the left hand side, as in these scenarios his back foot is his stronger right.
There are a few examples of Fujii using the correct footwork and forcing the opposition player back, leading me to believe that, with more coaching and experience, he can become fantastic defending in wide channels. Again, he has the exact build that coaches look for in an outside CB and is decently athletic, so the tools are already there.
Fantastic reading of the game allows him to step up and intercept
The same awareness and understanding that Fujii possesses in possession is also evident out of possession. Adept at sniffing out danger and reacting accordingly. Always scanning, thus always knows what's going on behind him, whereas many other defenders often fall into the trap of ball-watching when defending in a settled shape.
This awareness aids his aggressive natural, allowing him to step out of the line to intercept with correct timing, catching opposition players off guard.
He is willing to step up deep into the opposition half if he deems it necessary, trusting his teammates and his recovery pace to make up for any spaces he leaves behind him should he not win possession.
Aggression leads to opportunities on the counter. High turnovers and man-to-man pressing have become very relevant in the current footballing 'meta' because of how high quality of chance you can manufacture in transition, Fujii's desire to step up aggressively aligns with this high-press philosophy.
Not a dominant box defender
Obviously given his stature and the fact that he's an outside CB it's not overly surprising or concerning, but it must be mentioned that Fujii is not the most convincing box defender. When the play is in front of him he has the full picture and can act accordingly, when he is dealing with crosses or scrappy situations in the box he is noticeably less comfortable.
Can sometimes lose track of his man on set pieces or just when play gets hectic, will get caught the wrong side of him and may lead to goals conceded that could've easily been avoided.
One area where I am willing to credit Fujii's box defending is his willingness to put his body on the line to block shots and crosses from dangerous areas; this is not an easy thing to do, requires a strong mentality to throw yourself in harms way for the sake of the team. The spirit of a big-balled box defender à la Lewis Dunk does live within him.
Rarely loses in the air, but there is room for improvement
A 74.1% aerial duel win rate is exceptional, Fujii is dominant in the air versus J League opposition.
His muscular legs act as springs, giving him fantastic height when he does leap into a duel. Not a surprise that he can jump so high given his ability to accelerate, both actions are physiologically linked.
When he makes contact with the ball he manages to generate lots of power. This gives him the capacity to be a real threat from set pieces, though he currently needs some work attacking set pieces as he rarely gets on the end of them. This also gives him the ability to create, as shown in his peculiar assist vs Vissel Kobe where he heads the ball so hard it acts as a drilled through ball.
Being an outside CB, Fujii is seldom matched up against big target men and is instead going up against inside forwards and wingers, who obviously tend to be smaller. Should he be placed in a back 4 system where he is forced to duel with bigger 9s, I cannot in good faith suggest that his current aerial dominance would translate.
The biggest reason I worry for Fujii in the air against bigger men is his reluctance to use his arms when going up for the header; at this moment in time he relies solely on his leap. Up against strikers who can jump as high, or are more imposing physically, you cannot rely on your leap alone and need to use your arms to move and control the opposition player.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Should the link to Anderlecht manifest, I think that would be the ideal step up in competition for Fujii. The Japan to Belgium pipeline is one that has proven to be effective in introducing Japanese talents to the European game. Anderlecht are currently short on CBs, relying on midfielder Thomas Delaney to fill in there as Vertonghen is injured, so Fujii will no doubt get lots of minutes for a very good side. He is more than good enough to play in one of the top 5 leagues as far as I'm concerned, but moving to Belgium now before making the next step up in a couple years time will give him more time to adapt to life in Europe while playing for a big club - he has only just turned 23, there is plenty of time to take gradual steps. Learning behind Debast and Vertonghen can only be a good thing.
What does concern me with Anderlecht is the fact that they play a back 4, which I feel would hamper Fujii's impact on games. A lot of his game revolves around being able to be aggressive and get involved in all three phases of the game, something that comes with far more risk in a back 4 system where you only have 1 other CB to cover you; and while this does mean Fujii will be protected from being dragged into duels in wide channels where he struggles, that is something I see Fujii improving in rapidly. This is not a make-or-break issue though.
All in all, a move to the Belgian league seems most logical in Fujii's development, and it would also help him cement his spot in the Japan national team as seen with USG's Koki Machida. Despite having the talent to play among the best of the best, a jump straight to Germany for example may be too much too quickly.