32 Japanese Players in Europe’s Top Five Leagues; China Welcomes First Player Since Wu Lei’s 2022 Return

After the summer transfer window closed, a total of 32 Japanese players are playing in Europe’s top five leagues during the 2026-27 season, including 14 in the Bundesliga and 9 in the Premier League.

Bundesliga: 14 players

Hiroki Ito - Defender (Bayern Munich); Kaishu Sano - Midfielder (Mainz); Sota Kawasaki - Midfielder (Mainz); Ritsu Doan - Attacking midfielder (Eintracht Frankfurt); Keita Kosugi - Defender (Eintracht Frankfurt); Ko Itakura - Defender (Borussia Monchengladbach); Shuto Machino - Forward (Borussia Monchengladbach); Daiki Hashioka - Defender (Borussia Monchengladbach); Zento Uno - Midfielder (Borussia Monchengladbach); Yuito Suzuki - Midfielder (Freiburg); Keisuke Goto - Forward (Freiburg); Reiji Yamamoto - Midfielder (Freiburg); Hiroki Machida - Defender (Hoffenheim); Satoshi Tanaka - Midfielder (Schalke 04)

Premier League: 9 players

Wataru Endo - Midfielder (Liverpool); Kaoru Mitoma - Winger (Brighton); Daichi Kamada - Midfielder (Crystal Palace); Takehiro Tomiyasu - Defender (Crystal Palace); Zion Suzuki - Goalkeeper (Aston Villa); Ao Tanaka - Midfielder (Leeds United); Tatsuki Sakamoto - Winger (Coventry City); Hidemasa Morita - Midfielder (Hull City); Daizen Maeda - Forward (Ipswich Town)

Ligue 1: 6 players

Keito Nakamura - Forward (Lyon); Ayase Ueda - Forward (Lille); Kaito Mizuta - Midfielder (Le Havre); Sota Nakamura - Forward (Le Havre); Ayumu Seko - Defender/Midfielder (Le Havre); Takumi Minamino - Midfielder (Monaco)

La Liga: 2 players

Takefusa Kubo - Midfielder (Real Sociedad); Ryunosuke Sato - Midfielder (Valencia)

Serie A: 1 player

Yukinari Sugawara - Defender (Cagliari)

It is worth noting that the 2026-27 season of Europe’s top five leagues also has one Chinese player registered with a first-team squad. This is the first such case for Chinese football since Wu Lei returned to China in August 2022. During this period, players including Liu Shaoziyang (Bayern U19), Yang Xi (Espanyol U19), Li Lei (Grasshopper Club Zurich), and Lin Liangming (Almeria B team) did not achieve this milestone.

In August 2026, Wei Xiangxin officially moved abroad to join Auxerre and entered the first-team registration list, ending the long gap. However, Auxerre lost 2-5 to Lens in the opening round of the new season and 1-3 to Angers in the second round, and Wei Xiangxin was not included in the matchday squads for either game. Chinese football still has plenty of room to catch up.

In addition, Chinese football prospect Li Haoyan joining Barcelona’s La Masia academy (under a non-professional contract) was also one of the highlights of this summer.