Everton’s Japanese transfer target nets brace in World Cup match originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
One of the names to watch in the coming weeks is that of Ayase Ueda, who is coming off an impressive season with Feyenoord in the Eredivisie, netting 26 goals across 37 appearances for the Dutch side. This would be the main reason that the Japanese star was the subject of interest from multiple Premier League clubs in the weeks leading up to the start of the transfer window, with Merseyside club Everton being among the teams keen on bringing his talents to England.
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According to the original report, the Toffees were keen on bringing Ueda to the Hill Dickinson Stadium based on his technical ability as they look to build upon their frontline and their performance in the English top flight last season under David Moyes, finishing the campaign in 13th place with 49 points.
But it’s worth noting that it’s not only a slew of Premier League clubs that were keeping tabs on Ueda, as the head coach of the Japanese National Team, Hajime Moriyasu, was looking at the Feyenoord forward to include in his camp for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Ueda was more than deserving of a call-up for the global spectacle.
While he was on fire for the Eredivisie, the same couldn’t be said during Japan‘s opening match of the World Cup against the Netherlands, as Ueda would only register one shot, which wasn’t on target, as the Dutch defense was clamping down on him.
