Japan national team midfielder Ritsu Doan (SC Freiburg) scored equalizer goals against Germany and Spain at the FIFA World Cup Qatar. He has contributed greatly to Moriyasu Japan’s victory in the big game and group league breakthrough, but it seems that several clubs in Serie A (Italian 1st division), including Milan, are interested in him. On the 3rd, the Italian media “Diretta Goal” reports.
In July of this year, Ritsu Doan completely transferred from PSV Eindhoven to SC Freiburg for a transfer fee of 8.5 million euros (about 1.2 billion yen). SC Freiburg has already established itself as a regular on the right side, with 4 goals and 4 assists in 22 official matches.
On the other hand, the Japanese national team has limited opportunities to participate in the starting lineup due to the success of FW Junya Ito (Stud Lance). Still, he came on the pitch in the 71st minute against Germany on the 23rd of last month and scored the equalizing goal just four minutes later. In the match against Spain on the 2nd of this month, he participated in the second half kickoff, and in the 48th minute, he fired a powerful mid-range shot from a position near the right side outside the penalty area and scored the equalizing goal again. In the 51st minute, he created a winning goal for midfielder Midori Tanaka (Fortuna Düsseldorf) from a ground cross from the right side.
“Diretta Goal” compares Ritsu Doan, who stole goals from the World Cup favorites in quick succession, to “a Japanese warrior who is prepared to jump to Serie A,” and added, “Ritsu Doan is said to be a talisman of Japan.” He proved it in the final group stage match against Spain, where he started on the bench and completely changed the course of the game in the second half.”
“Several teams have a strong interest in signing Ritsu Doan, but it will require a fairly high transfer fee. The current market value is €12 million, but Qatar. After the World Cup, there is a possibility that it will rise further,” he wrote about the player’s future.
On top of that, Milan and Atalanta are listed as Serie A clubs that are interested in Ritsu Doan. “Ritsu Doan may be the next Japanese player to wear a Milan uniform after Keisuke Honda. Milan may make a serious offer to the Japanese national team player who is performing too well at the Qatar World Cup. Atalanta has a similar idea,” he said, pointing out the possibility of a competition between the two clubs.
Keisuke Honda has been with AC Milan for about three and a half years since January 2014. He made headlines for wearing the number 10 on his jersey. Ritsu Doan, who has shown a brilliant performance at the Qatar World Cup, will he walk a career like Keisuke Honda?