[스포티비뉴스=장하준 기자 / 장승하 영상기자] Japan’s next-generation ace, Kaoru Mitoma, has shown his admiration for Lionel Messi.
Mitoma has been outstanding in the Premier League this season and is attracting attention from many teams.
According to the sports statistics media ‘Opta’, Mitoma explained that among the players in Europe’s top 5 leagues, he had the second most successful dribbles in the penalty box after Messi.
Mitoma also picked Messi as a player he admired through an exclusive interview with ‘Sportivity’.
Mitoma said, “The player I admire the most is Messi. It is difficult to become like Messi without hard work,” and “He is a completely different player from others when it comes to running, carrying the ball, and taking a step further than the opponent.”
Mitoma continued, “As soon as I heard from Takefusa Kubo, he said that Messi is completely different from other players.”
On the other hand, Mitoma has only started in 6 of Brighton’s 18 games this season, so you can see that he is even more terrifying when he catches the ball.
On the 15th, Mitoma, who started against Liverpool, played a big role by harassing Trent Alexander Arnold.
Attention is focusing on how much more Mitoma will perform this season after adapting to the Premier League.