
Japan national soccer team fullback Yukinari Sugawara joins the Premier League promotion side to join the likes of Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton).
Southampton officially announced the signing of Japanese full-back Sugawara on Thursday (July 14) via their official website. The contract is for four years until the summer of 2028.
“Coming to Southampton and playing in the Premier League is one of my biggest dreams since childhood,” Sugawara said via the club. “Last summer I played against Southampton in pre-season,” he said, “and I’m really happy to be here. I felt that Southampton possessed the ball and played very good soccer. They didn’t use the long ball and played with short passes. Southampton played smart,” he said.
“I felt Southampton was a very good club. When they made me an offer, I said yes in a second,” said Sugawara, who accepted the offer in a heartbeat.
“Sugawara is a player we have been watching for a long time and he was our number one target in his position. He comes to us at a good age and has already played a lot of high-level games, including European experience. He is a talented footballer with a good mentality and we think he will be really popular with his teammates,” said Russell Martin.
“You can feel Sugawara’s passion and determination to do well. He is looking forward to playing for Southampton and is looking forward to playing in the Premier League.”
Born in 2000, the 24-year-old Sugawara stands at 179 centimeters and plays primarily as a right fullback. He came up through the Nagoya Grampus youth ranks, breaking 안전놀이터 into Nagoya’s first team in April 2018, before moving to AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) on loan a year later in the summer of 2019.
Sugawara spent six years at Alkmaar, both on loan and on a permanent basis, scoring 14 goals and providing 29 assists in 198 appearances for the club. In the 2023-2024 season, Sugawara set career highs with four goals and seven assists in 30 Eredivisie games.
Sugawara’s performances in the Netherlands attracted the attention of Southampton, who were keen to sign her. Southampton is where his national team teammate Maya Yoshida (LA Galaxy) spent eight years between 2012 and 2020.
Sugawara followed an elite path through Japan’s age-group national teams, making her A-match debut in October 2020. After a period of non-call-ups, he was selected by head coach Hajime Moriyasu shortly after the 2023 and 2022 FIFA World Cups in Qatar, and was a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar in January. He has now played 13 A matches for the national team.
With Sugawara’s arrival in the Premier League, a mini Korea-Japan matchup with Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan could be in the works.
Especially with Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan on the left and Sugawara on the right, they could go head-to-head on the same side.
Southampton and Tottenham will meet on Dec. 15, and Wolverhampton will meet for the first time on Nov. 10.