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Scouting report on Kodai Sano

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Furymaker

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Physical profile Kodai Sano stands at 176 cm, which puts him on the shorter side for a modern midfielder, but he is wiry, explosive and extremely dynamic. He covers ground aggressively with sharp changes of direction, excellent agility and a strong initial burst. His absolute top-end speed is modest, but that’s never been the priority for his profile. Instead, Sano makes up for any lack of raw power through sheer intensity and relentless dueling quality. He’s rarely outworked in 50/50s. Remarkably, he carries the ball faster than he runs without it, dribbling seems to unlock an extra gear in him His ball-carrying feels almost effortless at times. The flip side of his shorter frame occasionally shows in challenges: even when his timing is excellent, those slightly shorter legs can prevent him from getting full contact, which sometimes results in a foul or (more rarely) a card. Aerially he’s limited, both in terms of leap and physical presence in the air - but this is offset by elite second-ball reactions. He thrives on loose balls, shows outstanding anticipation, and uses very quick feet to win possession both in defensive recovery and in high pressing situations. Overall a high-energy, ball-oriented midfielder who punches well above his physical measurements through intelligence, tenacity and technical quality on the move.

Furymaker

@Furymaker_

Technical prowess Standout feature of this Japanese genius. He's incredibly clean technically, consistently capable of performing actions that require high level of technical ability even if pressed or off balance. First touch is super tidy, great feel for the ball, spacing between him and opponents, manipulates the ball equally well with stronger and weaker foot. Executes passes and shots with utmost quality, very clean and consistent. This technical ability transitions beautifully into his dribbling, passing and shooting as well which I'll cover down below.

Furymaker

@Furymaker_

Press resistance, dribbling, ball carrying These are the areas where his feel for the game, spatial awareness, burst of speed and the polished technical abilities come to shine. Kodai Sano is outstanding under pressure, anticipating opponents and capable of reacting with small clean touches, flicks, turns and bursty carries past defenders. This is one area where he truly reminds me of young Mateo Kovacic (of Dinamo Zagreb and Inter), Vitinha, Luka Modric - highly technical, mobile and dynamic player who's very hard to press, but he's also creative enough to beat his mean even in outside areas. Ball carrying through central areas, mostly from deep is also another strength of his, covers ground effectively and loses no pace while running with the ball. Here's the short compilation of his press resistance, dribbling and ball carrying. <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/LandOfComps/status/2015900722747846952?s=20" color="blue">x.com/LandOfComps/st…</a>

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Defensive workrate, dueling Sano is a willing defender, very good one at that too. He has incredible engine, work rate, covers everything for 90mins. He is a superb presser, great tackler with incredible anticipation and reaction time on 2nd balls. He gets into many duels, comes at players with intensity, gets into their bodies and wins almost 7 duels per 90mins with relatively good 54% success rate. Where he stands out is his anticipation, gets into passing lanes, intercepts attacks and tracks runners before they even show intent to run behind. While he's not an imposing figure in the midfield, his aggressive and relentless nature are very similar to those of Mateus Fernandes, Gavi, Joao Neves. As I mentioned before, his lack of bounce and height stops him from being very imposing in the air, but he competes and wins a lot of aerial duels simply because he isn't afraid to get up, very Gavi-esque in that sense. <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/LandOfComps/status/2015900880919208146?s=20" color="blue">x.com/LandOfComps/st…</a>

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@Furymaker_

Passing and creativity Another area where Kodai Sano's technical prowess shines. His passing is extremely polished, his range is very good, he's capable of putting superb power and accuracy in his passes while having the weight of pass aspect on point as well. Something that's very hard to accomplish for any player when he puts power behind his passes. Eye test can show inconsistencies with how effortlessly he hits long passes and switches, sometimes it looks like he doesn't hold enough power within him to release that lovely pass, but a minute later he'll smash it across the pitch to find an outlet to make you doubt what you've seen previously. He's a player who uses both feet equally well even when passing, so it's completely normal to see him hit switches of play with first touch with his weak foot out of nowhere. Sano always continues his runs after a pass, making sure he's available to receive the next pass which is another reason why I truly believe he'll excel in midfield role wherever he goes. When it comes to creativity, he's a player who plays with a lot of risks, attempts plenty of through balls after his carries and dribbles, but also tries ambitious lobbed passes from deeper areas. Has a nice vision to round it all off. In situations where NEC defends and he drops deep, sometimes he can look bit too afraid and would just first-time clear the ball far away which is something he'll have to work on in my humble opinion. While I do think Kodai Sano's skillset would be best used in midfield, one can't simply ignore his instincts in final third. <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/LandOfComps/status/2015901047395377597?s=20" color="blue">x.com/LandOfComps/st…</a>

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Furymaker

@Furymaker_

Ballstriking, goalscoring Even with limited footage one can see Kodai Sano has polished and clean ballstriking. He can put outstanding amount of power behind his strikes and he isn't afraid to do it which can be seen with some bangers he scores. As a player who's played in offensive positions and specifically on the wing before, he has good instincts on when to attack the box, when to run behind and when to look for his shots. This potential danger outside of the box opens up more space for his attackers, but also for him to make tricky passes the second defenders come out to block him from attempting to shoot. <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/LandOfComps/status/2015901208326603160?s=20" color="blue">x.com/LandOfComps/st…</a>

Furymaker

@Furymaker_

Summary and playstyle: Japanese international, Kodai Sano is a technical midfield player with lots of flair, but also a lot of grit and heavy work-load. Midfielder who falls into similar category of midfielders as Mateus Fernandes, young Mateo Kovacic, Joao Neves, Gavi. Not the tallest or the strongest, but a tenacious fighter with superb technical ability, tactical intelligence and engine to match. Versatile player who's shown to be capable of playing in various different roles across different positions, including playing as a winger, #10 or in box to box role and even as a sitting midfielder with tendency to progress the ball as soon as possible. His ease of carrying the ball, getting away from pressure, exploiting spaces while also being heavily involved in possession is a reason why I see aspects of players like Modric and Vitinha, but wouldn't be surprised to see him in completely different roles considering his strengths. Imo his engine, technical ability and tactical intelligence can push him to some great teams, I'm not surprised he's already being linked and watched by Brighton.