Back in March, there was a whole lot of confusion over who owned Yuta Toyokawa.
The Japanese forward was believed to have signed for Leeds United and then sent to Eupen on loan, but it was then swiftly established the 24-year-old would be directly signing for the Belgian side, where he quickly became a cult hero.
Scoring a hat trick in their final game of the season, Toyokawa ensured Eupen didn’t get relegated, taking his form into their playoffs, where he scored four goals in eight games.
With four in 18 so far this season, he might not be as prolific, but he’s still loved as much, as La Meuse have a look at his situation.
Among the whole page dedicated to the striker, the Belgian newspaper also look back at his transfer, where they explain what happened, and it seems Leeds just wasn’t the place right place for his ambitions.
While that might have changed nowadays with Marcelo Bielsa in charge of the Elland Road based club, last season was a mediocre one for the club, ending in 13th, a six spot regression from the 2016/17 campaign.
La Meuse explain Toyokawa’s agent had tied ‘first and serious’ contacts with Leeds, but with the club ‘far from their past glory’, it was ‘more enticing’ for the striker to go directly to Eupen.
Since then, he’s seen his deal extended by an extra year, and it seems that, while still unable to communicate with his teammates, he’s very happy where he is for the time being.
