BIO
Date of Birth / Age: 28/08/99 / 24yo
Nationality: Japan
Team: Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Position: CM
Height: 183cm
Overall Statistics for the 2023 Season - transfermarkt.co.uk
Touchmap for the 2023 J League Season - sofascore.com
One of the crucial pieces in a hardworking and industrious Sanfrecce Hiroshima side that have finished 3rd in the last two J League campaigns, Takumu Kawamura put his name on map over the 2023 season, earning his first ever call up to the Japan national team. Despite not garnering as much attention as his partner in crime Makoto Mitsuta, Kawamura was the heartbeat of Michael Skibbe's side and will be looking to take the next step over the 2024 season with European eyes closely watching.
PHYSICAL TRAITS
Long, slender, and slight build; ideal limb proportions for a central midfielder but lacks the desired muscle mass
Has the long legs everyone wants in their midfielders; helps him clog up passing lanes, engage in duels, and eat up ground with long strides.
Very upright and narrow frame, the type of build that we've come to expect from more elegant, controlled midfielders.
Doesn't carry much muscle on his frame at all, he is skinny and unimposing. Will need to become more robust to aid in physical midfield battles as at the moment he does not have the strength output required.
Far more explosive than someone of his build warrants being, impressive speed and lateral movement ability
For someone carrying seemingly so little muscle, Kawamura is an impressive and explosive athlete. Carries more fast twitch muscles fibres than slow twitch.
Has great start-stop capacity and can reach his top speed in an instant. Often catches people off guard with his acceleration ability.
Does not struggle over longer distances as more explosive athletes are prone to doing because of his longer strides.
Shortens his stride length and quickens his feet with ease when needed, allows for great lateral movement and agility, of course helped by his top level acceleration.
He is a natural athlete, something that will hold up as the competition of his opposition increases; has tools that you cannot teach.
Elite aerobic capacity, will not stop running and working for his team over the 90
3rd most distance covered and 5th most sprints in the J League over the 2023 season, admirable stamina and mentality, always working off the ball.
Was the heartbeat of a Hiroshima side that relies so heavily on winning duels, working hard, and covering ground; irreplaceable.
Starts whenever available in league competition, only once subbed off. Suffered a ligament injury midway through the 2022 season that kept him out of 19 games yet has shown no sign of that lingering.
IN POSSESSION, ON-BALL ACTIONS
Sees very little of the ball due to Hiroshima's preference to bypass the midfield in the build up phase; little to no impact in the first phase
Hiroshima want to go direct and get the ball into space on the wings whenever possible, thus ignoring Kawamura in the centre of the park.
Due to the threat of turnovers and being attacked in transition, Hiroshima's CBs almost always look to go long rather than play through the midfield, meaning Kawamura's impact on the sides build up is near zero - he averages only 25.7 passes per 90.
Despite the playstyle of his team, he does show poise and vision when given touches in the 1st and 2nd phase. He carries himself with the aura of a tempo-setter, knowing when to change the pace of the game and reading pressure well.
So long as Kawamura continues to play in a system that doesn't value his ability to dictate play to a decent level, this area of his game will never develop further. This is not a bad thing really, the aim is to win games and Hiroshima are very good at that; Kawamura's build up development can be sacrificed so long as they continue winning with their current style.
Technically secure and protects the ball well when given the opportunity to play through pressure, keeps things simple, technical empathy is there
Good first touch on both feet, minimises his touches to therefore minimise errors, senses danger and shields the ball well; simple but secure.
Ball retention is his main aim when not in the opposition 3rd, there is not much between the lines progression from Kawamura, keeping the ball safe is first priority. This does limit his ceiling as a passer but helps him maintain a high floor.
Little to no difference in technical security when playing in frantic situations rather than the slower pace he prefers to maintain; still takes great touches, reads the field well, recycles possession with minimal risk.
There is a tendency for left footed players to rely too heavily on their stronger foot and thus suffering from heavy angle bias, completely closing off certain passing lanes to ensure they can play on their left - this is not an issue with Kawamura.
Lacks an expansive passing range but the sample size is far too small to claim he has no ability to stretch the pitch; slight tendency for long balls to have too much air under them
Almost never plays long, mainly because he has so few touches of the ball and it's safer for CBs to play the longer passes into the channels.
His technical ability would suggest that he has the capacity to stretch play and have an expansive passing range, but this is something there is little proof of him having at this moment in time.
When he is given the opportunity to switch play or look to go in behind he usually puts slightly too much air under the ball, meaning it takes a longer time to reach its destination and can be contested by opposition defenders.
Shockingly venomous ball striking when shooting from distance, not a skill you'd expect him to possess
His explosive, fast twitch muscles show up here, transferring a load of power into the ball even when just poking at a shot; natural affinity for striking with power.
When striking with the laces he has nice technique, keeps his movements short and compact to strike the ball with velocity, just needs to get over the ball slightly more to prevent his shots from rising so much. Lots to work with here.
Teams do not seem to respect his ability to strike from range, never will you see a defender flying in to close him down on the edge of the area. Do not be surprised if you see a screamer from Kawamura very soon, someone with his explosive ball striking being given this much time on the edge of the area is recipe for disaster from the oppositions perspective.
Under-perfoming his xG but this is not something to be overly worried about
Last season Kawamura had 3 league goals from 6.3 xG. He takes 2.3 shots per 90, mostly from around the edge of the area, leading to an accumulation of low xG chances.
There is a reliance on his left foot when shooting which can cause some issues with his finishing but he is so rarely in a shooting position on his right that I'm not willing to say this is the key issue here.
A lot of bad luck can lead to xG under-performance, especially when the xG is not particularly high. Versus Sapporo, Kawamura had 3 clear chances not go in simply because of incredible goalkeeping, finishing was certainly not the issue.
The important part is that he is generating shots and xG playing mostly in a double pivot, not that he happens to not currently be convering xG into goals. Attacking instincts are there.
Hiroshima are not a particularly high scoring or free flowing attacking side, making the underlying data even more impressive for a double pivot player.
Not yet a great ball carrier but the ball manipulation is there and he can always lean on his pace to help him beat his man
41.2% dribble success is not particularly great, but the J League stats database is somewhat iffy in how they measure what is and isn't a dribble.
He prefers to be ahead of the ball in attacking situations, making runs down the half space and dragging defenders with him; very rarely is he in a situation where he has the opportunity to take a man on 1v1.
An area where improvements can easily be made, he has the technical ability and ball manipulation to effectively beat his man, especially to evade the press.
His pace will always raise his floor as a ball carrier, particularly in transition where there are clear spaces for him to attack.
IN POSSESSION, OFF-BALL ACTIONS
Field vision in possession is a strength and he is usually positioned well to give his teammates an option
Frequent scanning and natural awareness means Kawamura is often in the ideal position, be that giving his teammate an option under pressure or drifting between the lines to be an outlet for progression.
The possession and build up fundamentals at Hiroshima are practically nonexistent, no matter how well positioned he is to help his teammates they always end up trapping themselves on the touchline and booting long.
Has the brain of a possession footballer, would flourish in a side that lets him showcase this.
Willing runner down the LHS and in behind from deep, great rotations with his Left Back
Loves to get in behind the defence in the final 3rd, takes any opportunity he can to make a run and combine with the attackers in and around the box.
Timing of the runs is always great, obviously helped by the fact that he's starting from a deeper position and not on the last line. His pace combined with the timing of his runs helps him get a step on whoever is marking him, making him a reliable target in behind.
Good relationship with his left back Takaaki Shichi, rotating and alternating runs naturally, very hard to defend without going man-to-man.
Constant movement between the lines and in behind, aided by his stamina - must be a nightmare to mark for a full 90.
Chance creation comes mostly from his movements off the ball as opposed to his actions on the ball
His runs down the half space open up space inside for his attackers, namely Mitsuta. Getting in behind allows him to lay the ball off and play a lot of cutbacks when his runs are found, far easier chance creation than delivering an incisive pass through a crowded box.
In transition his runs are key, stretches the opposition even further as very few defenders can keep up with him for the entirety of his run.
Against deeper blocks this ability is somewhat neutralised as obviously there is less space for him to attack with his runs and more bodies to get through. Not something to rely on when it comes to chance creation but still a useful weapon.
OUT OF POSSESSION, ON-BALL ACTIONS
Efficient duel winner, aided by his long legs; does get too grabby when engaging however, will give away silly freekicks
1.9 tackles per 90, 81.4% tackle success rate - low volume but extraordinary efficiency.
Long legs allow him to commit from distance and poke the ball away from a carrier that doesn't expect a challenge to come in yet, also allows him to reliably win loose balls.
Aggressive and willing in the tackle, engages with intent as opposed to just flopping a foot out there towards the ball like you see so many midfielders do nowadays.
Loves to get a handful of shirt when engaging in a tackle, could do without it. Will give away needless freekicks because of this - should be using his forearm to post up on the opposition player if he wants to initiate contact before tackling.
Will throw his body into the duel when defending in transition, brave and passionate defender
Passion and desire, will not back away from a tackle that needs to be made even if it means putting his body on the line.
Will also throw his body in the way of shots when defending his box - attitude of a throwback, combative midfielder; surprising given his build and elegant technical ability.
Leading by example in the midfield, so important in a team that leans so heavily on duels to control games due to a lack of in possession structure. Captain material.
Always tracking back no matter how late into the game, fantastic mentality, clear want to win no matter what.
Loses physical battles a lot of the time, struggles to compete shoulder-to-shoulder with more robust players
Simply no physically strong enough, gets moved in duels far too often in a rather physically weak league, needs to pack on more size to hold up here.
Struggles to impose himself on the opposition, perhaps why he turns to grabbing shirts when he needs to engage physically.
Gets flung about in an almost cartoonish manner when going shoulder-to-shoulder; attempts to avoid this whenever possible by engaging from behind, which is dangerous and will lead to bad tackles being made.
Due to being taller and having an upright posture he forfeits the leverage advantage in shoulder-to-shoulder duels, allowing opposition players to get underneath his arm and break his posture.
Can be targeted aerially, against struggles to compete in the physical aspect here
28.8% aerial win rate, not good enough at all, especially for someone who often has the height advantage over opposition midfielders and has great spring to his jumps because of his athleticism.
Again there is an inability to impose himself physically, needs to post up on the opposition with his arm as he goes up, win the duel before the ball arrives.
Will be targeted from long balls, needing the CBs to step up and deal with it; chain reaction, CB forced to step up leaving space behind him which can be exploited should the opposition win the flick on.
Far better aerially in attacking situations where can really throw himself at the ball with a lack of care and finesse; harder to win aerial duels in a defensive position as you start from a still position waiting for the ball to arrive (plus the ball is coming down from a higher angle), as opposed to running onto a flatter ball and attacking it.
OUT OF POSSESSION, OFF-BALL ACTIONS
Constant, aggressive pressure on whoever he has been sent out to mark, will not allow them a moment of time on the ball
Hiroshima often deploy a man-to-man marking scheme; Kawamura commits to it fully, not allowing his man any breathing room whatsoever.
His movement ability and athleticism allow him to stay tight to his man no matter how agile and quick they may be.
Truly suffocating to play against, you get zero rest when Kawamura is on you.
In being so aggressive he does allow for spaces to open up behind him
His aggression off the ball can be exploited, he needs someone to screen the space behind him as he does vacate the midfield fairly often.
Cannot play as a 6 because of his aggression and want to defend on the front foot; not content sweeping up between the lines, protecting his backline.
In a midfield 3 you can truly get the best out of his front-footed nature, allowing him to step up and press as high as he wished as there are 2 other midfielders to protect the spaces he vacates.
Covers so much ground and his long legs allow him to clog up passing lanes, does the job of two men in the middle of the park
Enough though he doesn't cause a high amount of turnovers, Kawamura is constantly in the way; because of his aggression, his nonstop energy, and his long legs that let him cover more ground than you'd expect.
Very difficult to play in tight spaces when he is present, he will latch onto any loose touch or pass in an instant.
At times it seems like Hiroshima have an extra man in the midfield because of how much ground Kawamura covers, especially later on in games when the opposition is starting to tire. They tend to dominate possession later on in games despite the lack of in possession structure because of this; allows them to see out games with ease, a big reason why they finished 3rd.
PROJECTION
Kawamura is an all-action LCM whose athleticism and workrate allows others to shine. He is technically secure and reliable yet is more than content doing the dirty work and creating space for his more creative teammates. Despite lacking strength and physicality he is an efficient ball winner who will throw his body on the line to protect his goal, making him a truly impactful box-to-box player. He will always score and create goals because of his excellent runs in behind and in the box, as well as his threat in transition due to his pace. There is massive upside with his violent and explosive ball striking too.
While the lack of physicality does worry me should he move to Europe, his playstyle perfectly fits the transition-based leagues such as in Belgium and Germany, so I would not be surprised if he is sought after by clubs in those nations looking to add some industry and technical upside to their midfield come the summer transfer window. Right now, another season of development at Hiroshima as one of their key players makes the most sense, especially considering they will be looking to challenge for the title this year.