Southampton have signed Japan right-back Yukinari Sugawara from Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar.
The 24-year-old put pen to paper on a four-year contract and is their seventh signing of the summer transfer window.
Sugawara is also the second Japanese player to move to Southampton this summer, after the club announced the arrival of Rento Takaoka, who will join from Nissho Gakuen High School when he turns 18 in March 2025.
“Last summer I played against Southampton in the pre-season," Sugawara told the club's official website. "I felt Southampton played very good football with the ball; they didn’t play long balls, only short passing, they played smart.
“I felt Southampton is a really good club. When Southampton gave me an offer, I said yes after one second!”
"So, Yuki, what attracted you to Southampton?" 😅
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) July 14, 2024
Southampton manager Russell Martin is delighted to get his man, adding: "Yuki is a player we’ve watched for a long time and was our number one target in his position.
“He arrives at a good age with a lot of games already under his belt at a high level, including a wealth of European experience. He’s a talented footballer with a great mentality, and a character we think will be really popular with his team-mates.
“You can sense his enthusiasm and determination to do well – he’s really excited to play for Southampton, not just to play in the Premier League.”
Who is Yukinari Sugawara?
Sugawara was born on 28 June 2000 in Toyokawa, Japan.
He began his career in 2018 with Nagoya Grampus in the J1 League and remained with the club until 2019, when he moved to the Netherlands.
In his first season with AZ Alkmaar, the full-back played 35 times across all competitions before the campaign was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
Across the last two seasons, Sugawara has had a huge impact on his side's attacking output. He scored three times and assisted a further eight goals across 31 Eredivisie matches in 2022/23 before netting four and creating seven goals in 30 league appearances last season.
In total, the 24-year-old has played 135 times in the Dutch league and has also featured in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League.
He has represented Japan at Under-15, Under-17, Under-19, Under-20, Under-22 and Under-23 levels, and has gone on to earn 13 caps for the senior side.
Sugawara could feature in Southampton's first pre-season friendly against Eastleigh on 19 July, while he will hope to make his Premier League debut when Saints start their season at Newcastle United on Saturday 17 August.
