Daichi Kamada, once considered the ace of Japan’s national soccer team, is set to join Crystal Palace.
Fabrizio Romano, a European soccer transfer market expert who works for the UK’s The Guardian, posted on social media on Wednesday (June 3), “Kamada is heading to Palace. As revealed on Friday, a verbal agreement has been finalized and he will undergo a medical this week,” he wrote, accompanied by his signature phrase ‘Here we go,’ which he uses when a transfer is confirmed.
According to Romano, Palace are now waiting for Gamada to become a free agent. Kamada, who played for Italian Serie A side Lazio until last season, is out of contract at the end of the season, and because he is technically a Lazio player until June 30, Palace will have to wait another month to sign him as a free agent.
Alternatively, the player could announce a deal with his former club first, as Kylian Mbappe did after leaving Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for Real Madrid. However, both Gamada and Palace have no reason to be in a hurry, so they’re likely to take their time.
Born in 1996, the 27-year-old Japanese midfielder broke into the European scene when he joined Eintracht Frankfurt of the German Bundesliga from Sagan Doss of the J-League.
After gaining experience on loan at Sint-Truiden, a bridgehead for Japanese players heading to Europe, Kamada returned to Frankfurt in 2019 and has been a key resource for the team ever since. In the 2020-2021 season, he scored five goals and provided 12 assists in the league alone, finishing second on the team in offensive points behind Filip Kostić and helping Frankfurt to a fifth-place finish in the league.
Gamada’s performance continued in the 2021-2022 season. While his impact in the league diminished, Gamada played an integral role in Frankfurt’s victory in the UEFA Europa League with an outstanding performance. Kamada continued to be a mainstay for Frankfurt the following year before moving to Lazio ahead of last season.
This is where his career started to go downhill. After failing to improve his form in the first half of the season, he spent more time on the bench and was labeled for sale despite picking up his form in the second half.
Kamada’s struggles with his club also affected his national team career. Kamada, who had never been a very good player for the national team, was dropped by Japan’s head 카지노 coach Hajime Moriyasu as his form deteriorated and his playing time dwindled.
Kamada, who was not called up to the national team last October due to poor form, was also left off the roster for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar, where Japan was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
It was his former coach at Frankfurt, Oliver Glassner, who reached out to him when he became a free agent.
“He wanted Kamada because he was with him at Frankfurt,” Romano said, explaining why the player decided to move to Palace.
Glassner was the head coach of Frankfurt from 2021 to 2023, when Kamada was at the peak of his powers in Frankfurt. He understands Gamada’s strengths and weaknesses and knows exactly how to utilize them, which is why he decided to sign him.