Kosei Tani Scout Report


 

Date of birth: 22 November 2000

Country: Japan

Position: Goalkeeper

Height: 190cm

Preferred foot: Right

Club: Machida Zelvia


Japanese football has always been entertaining to watch, from players like Shunsuke Nakamura to Hidetoshi Nakata and from Shinji Kagawa to Keisuke Honda making a vast impression to football fans all over the world, the technical side has always been clear, however there has been a glaring problem in Japanese football for decades now, and that is the lack of a solid Goalkeeper. However, with Kosei Tani shining, that problem could be solved.

Contracted to Gamba Osaka and currently on loan to 2024's surprise package Machida Zelvia, Kosei has been a star performer for the J League's league leaders. Starting all 16 league games so far this season, Tani has notched up 6 clean sheets whilst posting a very respectful 2.1 saves at an accuracy rate of 72%. For comparison to Celtic's Joe Hart, Tani has a better save percentage (72% vs 68%) which is impressive as they both concede the same amount of goals (0.8 per game). What is very interesting is where the shots coming to Tani's goal are coming from, with Tani making 19 saves from shots outside of the box and 15 saves being made from shots inside the box. 

Tani's ability is very typical of the "traditional" keeper, with his ability to claim the ball high, fantastic agility to make quick saves, especially in one on ones. Claiming the ball high might sound rather basic, however anyone watching J league on a regular basis will notice a trend amongst Japanese goalkeepers, which is they typically panic anytime a ball is put into the box and come out to claim it way to early, often leading to the ball in the back of the net. With Tani however he is very consistent and knows when to stay on his line and when to claim the cross. Tani's agility is a great asset in his arsenal, often making very impressive reaction saves, usually close to his line which in the J League happen a lot due to the natural attacking direct play majority of teams play. 

Speaking of direct play, that is exactly how Machida Zelvia play with building out from the back being a bit of a last resort. This has led to Tani's passes per game look low when compared to Keepers playing in Europe. Only making 16.8 passes per game (59% accuracy) with 10.3 passes in his own half (87%). 7.5 of his passes are long balls forward at 39% accuracy. For comparison let's look at his numbers vs Joe Hart again, Hart making 24.7 passes per game with an incredible 23.5 being made in his own half and only 2.4 long balls being played. However, do not be put off from Tani's low pass numbers. This is simply due to the style of play Machida play, when Tani has played for Japan Olympic team who play out from the back, he had almost identical number of passes per game at 16.7, however 15.5 of those were short. When attackers press Tani he does not panic showing his ability with the ball at his feet.

There is no doubt Tani will need to improve his passing should he move to a European club, simply to fit into the typical build from the back tactic, but this is something that should not pose a threat to most teams, more so of a change of the passes Tani makes. European teams should look at his consistency, often recieving a match rating of 7.13. Again for comparison, Joe Hart recieved an average rating of 6.85. 

Ideal Club:

You probably saw this one coming but a move to Glasgow Celtic is something I would love to see. Celtic of course are looking for a goalkeeper following Hart's retirement and the club have already picked up some talent from the J League in recent years to great effect. A move to Celtic seems to benefit everyone, allowing Tani to adapt quickly and play in European competition. However another move I think is possible is to Croatian side Gnk Dinamo Zagreb. Another club that has dipped into the Japanese transfer market recently, I could see them making a move for Tani. Dinamo lost their number 1 Dominik Livakovic last summer and have had a tough time replacing him, switching between backups. A new goalkeeper should be on their summer wishlist and picking up both the best goalkeeper and a future Japan international seems like a no brainer to me. 

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