FC St. Pauli brings Japanese Fujita: innovations for the midfield!

FC St. Pauli brings Japanese Fujita: innovations for the midfield!

A breath of fresh air is blowing at FC St. Pauli: The club has landed a talented young midfielder in Joel Chima Fujita. The 23-year-old Japanese is moving from Belgian club VV St. Truiden to the Kiezkickern and signing a four-year contract. Fujita, who was born in Tokyo and has both Japanese and Nigerian citizenship, is already the third Japanese in St. Pauli's club history, after Ryo Miyaichi and Kazuo Ozaki. This commitment brings fresh impetus to the team and creates a lot of anticipation among the fans. NDR reported.

Fujita started his career in Japan, where he won both the championship and the Super Cup with Yokohama F. Marinos. Since moving to Europe in 2023, he has played 47 games in the Jupiler Pro League, in which he scored one goal and assisted four more. His defensive skills are particularly noteworthy: his passing game has an impressive accuracy of 85%. These skills, coupled with his high pass security, make him a valuable addition to the Kiezkicker midfield.

A player for the future

St. Pauli's sports director, Andreas Bornemann, praises Fujita's balanced style of play: "He brings dynamic elements, game intelligence and a strong defensive presence." This fits wonderfully into the game concept of head coach Alexander Blessin, who emphasizes that Fujita brings courage and clarity to the game. These qualities should be particularly important when developing a dynamic dual leadership with an attacking midfielder. This could lead to an exciting attacking game, with players like Pereira Lage and Afolayan/RJJ on the pitch. St. Pauli is already eyeing further new signings, particularly up front.

There has been intense interest in the talented Fujita in recent weeks, and VfB Stuttgart was also considered a possible opponent for the signature. Ultimately, however, Fujita decided on St. Pauli and spoke of positive discussions with those responsible at the club. The club has been without the song “Das Herz von St. Pauli” since February - but with the signing of Fujita, this could be the beginning of a new era.

A versatile player

With a height of 1.75m and the ability to play as both a central defensive midfielder (No6) and offensive (No8), Fujita offers the team versatile options. Last season he already gained experience by playing in 27 regular season games and six relegation games. This versatility could prove valuable for the Kiezkickers, who have to compete against well-known opponents such as Borussia Dortmund in the coming Bundesliga season.

In the end, it remains to be seen how the team around the new Japanese will develop. One thing is certain, however: the anticipation of the coming season and the challenges it brings with it can already be felt in the Hanseatic city. Transfer market emphasizes that St. Pauli has several construction sites, and there may still be a need for reinforcements, especially in defense.