Player Suggestion Ryataro Ito

[Iffy Onuora's Shiny Head]

Awkward when members of the forum can scout players better than the club

Gerrim in!!!

He doesn't fit into the "Was highly rated between 2018 and 2021" remit that a lot of our transfers seem to require

 

[CoatesyBlade]

We should definitely be looking at players such as this. Unfortunately our failed foray into the AI market has set us back years I fear as far as being a pragmatic progressive club goes!

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

Surely we could use the saved wages of Grbic to pay for this lad.

 

[Blade56]

Surely we could use the saved wages of Grbic to pay for this lad.

Then we’ve not saved Gribics wages, we’ve spent then on Ito. Becoming clear the owners have zipped the carpetbag full of sales income up tight

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

Then we’ve not saved Gribics wages, we’ve spent then on Ito. Becoming clear the owners have zipped the carpetbag full of sales income up tight

But but surely they weren't expecting bomb scare to be sold which was brucie bonus for them two Yank cunts.

 

[HeySethUTB]

Get it looked at on a free, 1 year deal with option for a second if it works out. We desperately need more creativity and that could happen if our scouting department and management show the ability to look left field for a change.

I’d also be cheeky and try and use riedwald as leverage for Zaha. If you don’t ask you don’t get.

 

[Blade56]

But but surely they weren't expecting bomb scare to be sold which was brucie bonus for them two Yank cunts.

 

[brownblade]

I promised I would try to avoid doing this but was having a chat with AI the other day!

Yes — I think your framing is much more accurate. If O’Hare leaves, I’d look at Itō primarily as an O’Hare replacement, not a Hamer replacement.
The timing is particularly interesting because Wrexham have reportedly made a £6.5m bid for O’Hare, with talks ongoing, and he has started all three of United’s league games this season.
Ito vs O’Hare
There are actually quite a few similarities:

​	Callum O’Hare​	Ryōtarō Itō​
Main role	No. 10	No. 10 / attacking midfielder
Age	28	28
Creativity	Excellent	Excellent
Between-the-lines play	Excellent	Excellent
Goal threat	Good	Very good last season
Pressing/work rate	High	Reasonable
Defensive contribution	Better	Weaker
Experience in England	Huge advantage	None
European adaptation	—	Already adapted
Transfer fee	£6.5m+ if Wrexham bid	Free agent

And Ito’s 2025/26 season is particularly compelling: 10 goals and 5 assists, after previously being much more of a creator than a scorer.
Where I think Ito could fit
If United lose O’Hare, I wouldn’t necessarily try to find another player who looks exactly like him.
I’d be tempted to use something like:
Brereton Díaz — striker/left-sided forward
Ito — No.10
right-sided attacker
with Ito having freedom to drift into the half-spaces and receive between the midfield and defence.
That would actually give United a slightly different attacking profile.
O’Hare is more of a ball-carrier/pressing No.10, whereas Ito looks more like a chance-creation specialist. STVV described him when they signed him as a creative hub from which many of their attacking moves originated.
And I agree on Brereton Díaz
I wouldn’t describe BBD as the Hamer replacement either in a positional sense, but he makes the Hamer departure less damaging because he changes the balance of the attack.
With Hamer gone back to Coventry, United have lost that combination of:

• midfield ball-carrying
• set pieces
• goals from midfield
• physicality
• late runs

You can’t really replace all of that with one player.
But if Brereton Díaz gives United a genuine left-sided attacking threat, it allows the team to redistribute those responsibilities rather than asking one midfielder to do everything.
And the current situation makes the O’Hare question much more important. The latest reports explicitly note that BBD’s arrival has allowed O’Hare to move back into his preferred central role after covering on the wing.
So I’d see it as:
Hamer → not directly replaced by BBD
O’Hare → potentially replaced by Ito
BBD → gives United the left-sided attacking option they need
And if United could get Ito on a free, that becomes a very intriguing piece of business.

Boo

 

[Ron_Justice]

Exciting!

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

As much as I value these suggestions, it's all fucking pointless isn't it?

Rumour mill has never been more redundant and pointless than it has this summer.

There's no point suggesting owt. "It'll be loans and frees" will actually equate to "we go with what we've got".

 

[Ron_Justice]

 

[CPB]

View attachment 243469

Hamza Ito

 

[sportsmanblade]

View attachment 243469

IIs a low risk no brainer we need mobility and creativity think it would be good for dressing room!
We would have the tidiest dressing room that's for sure.

Commercial aspect of signing our first ever perm Japanese player. It brings more eyes and supporters from a part of the world we aren't really well known that has a fantastic love for football.
just look at the Hamza and BBD surge in support from Bangladesh and Chile respectively.

Interesting fact Chris might already know abit of Japanese from our last Japanese signing, as he was part of the same squad under Bassett in the 91 92 season when a
Shokichi Sato, came in on a loan from Japanese club NKK SC.

 

[Bladesman]

IIs a low risk no brainer we need mobility and creativity think it would be good for dressing room!
We would have the tidiest dressing room that's for sure.

Commercial aspect of signing our first ever perm Japanese player. It brings more eyes and supporters from a part of the world we aren't really well known that has a fantastic love for football.
just look at the Hamza and BBD surge in support from Bangladesh and Chile respectively.

Interesting fact Chris might already know abit of Japanese from our last Japanese signing, as he was part of the same squad under Bassett in the 91 92 season when a
Shokichi Sato, came in on a loan from Japanese club NKK SC.

Still wishful thinking.

As people say, if his name was Ryan there might be a chance.

 

[itsinyerblood]

We're currently a mess, to such a degree I can't imagine any player of potential, of which
Ito appears to have plenty, would consider us a good career move. It might have to be a case of two steps back before we're able to move forward, and yes, I think we have a hard road ahead of us, but it's not impossible to see beyond our current difficulties. We will need to see our current owners become a distant memory, and what concerns me is who will take their place but that's out of the supporter's hands I'm afraid, just as it's always been. It will need an enormous piece of luck for Utd to secure ownership by someone(s) capable of behaving in a way that we've become unaccustomed to.

 

[Bladesman]

We're currently a mess, to such a degree I can't imagine any player of potential, of which
Ito appears to have plenty, would consider us a good career move. It might have to be a case of two steps back before we're able to move forward, and yes, I think we have a hard road ahead of us, but it's not impossible to see beyond our current difficulties. We will need to see our current owners become a distant memory, and what concerns me is who will take their place but that's out of the supporter's hands I'm afraid, just as it's always been. It will need an enormous piece of luck for Utd to secure ownership by someone(s) capable of behaving in a way that we've become unaccustomed to.

He's 28, I think he has hit his potential already.

 

[sportsmanblade]

He's 28, I think he has hit his potential already.

At 28 you are literally just starting to hit your prime years in my opinion. The next 4 years are when you are at your best.

 

[JOEYDEE]

Wasn't CoH 28 anyway..plus this guy has been without a club for a couple of months.
Wanna bet its not him we're bringing in tho,unless CW likes Jap food or saki !

 

[sportsmanblade]

Wasn't CoH 28 anyway..plus this guy has been without a club for a couple of months.
Wanna bet its not him we're bringing in tho,unless CW likes Jap food or saki !

He likes Asahi

 

[jt64]

At 28 you are literally just starting to hit your prime years in my opinion. The next 4 years are when you are at your best.

Gives the definition of having reached potential when trying to say someone hasn't reached their potential

 

[Champagneblade]

Also:

In September 1989, former Japanese international forward Koji Noguchi spent a brief, unusual development stint with Sheffield United.
At just 19 years old, the Chiba City native traveled to England for a 12-month period intended to immerse him in European training and match play methods. [1]
An infamous and humorous anecdote from his short time at Sheffield United was recorded by the Financial Times in 1989:

According to Keith Mincher, the coach: “Before the match I put 10 crosses on a piece of paper and asked him where he wanted to play. He picked out right back, and then I noticed he was looking at the paper upside down. He really wanted to play on the left wing.”
Despite the language barrier, Noguchi made a memorable impression on the pitch during an intermediate team game, coming off the bench as a substitute for the final 20 minutes and scoring a rapid hat-trick. [1]
Following his developmental experience in England, Noguchi returned to Japan where he enjoyed a highly successful senior career. He spent the majority of his playing years as a prolific forward for Bellmare Hiratsuka, where he scored 95 goals in over 204 appearances, won the 1994 Emperor's Cup, and earned a cap for the Japan national team in 1995.

 

[Thrice]

I always find myself impressed when I see the Japanese play. They always look technically sound and tidy on the ball. There must be several gems in the Japanese league still.

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

Think Blackburn are being linked.

 

[Bramhall Lane blade]

I always find myself impressed when I see the Japanese play. They always look technically sound and tidy on the ball. There must be several gems in the Japanese league still.

Add Koreans to that

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

We go with what we've got...

 

[ckpe147]

hes going to blackburn… can you friggin believe it, what a joke

 

[Ron_Justice]

Or not

 

[LiamBG]

It won’t be us will it? Be someone like Burnley

 

[CaptainMorgans]

This doesn't tick many Wilder boxes.

 

[ckpe147]

This doesn't tick many Wilder boxes.

Nope.

Doesnt thump the badge enough is what ive heard