Midweek News Round-up

A midweek Ardija news round-up still has no information about new signings coming to Omiya, but there are nevertheless a few bits and pieces to pass on. First, as had been reported as a possibility, Yoshihito Fujita has left the Squirrels and signed for J2 outfit Yokohama FC. Fujita spent two years with Omiya having previously been a prolific enough scorer with Sagan Tosu and he initially slotted in to the Ardija starting line-up. Goals were a lot harder to come by in J1, however, and the 2010 season saw his first team opportunities greatly reduced, especially after the arrival of new coach Jun Suzuki. The move to Yokohama sees Fujita re-united with former Tosu boss Yasuyuki Kishino and it's to be hoped that the level of football will suit him better.

As for players coming in the other direction, Squirrels fans at the moment have only the scraps of press rumours to feed on and the most recent stories have linked Ardija with moves for FC Tokyo defender Kim Yong Gwon and Gamba Osaka midfielder Hayato Sasaki. Kim is only twenty and put in a by all accounts respectable season at the struggling Gasheads: eighteen starts as a rookie, spread across central defence, left back and defensive midfield positions would suggest that the South Korean U21 international is a reasonable enough prospect. 28-year-old Sasaki, meanwhile, was used almost exclusively as a substitute in his third year at Gamba, having begun his pro career in J2 at Montedio Yamagata.

That aside the main Omiya news has focused on manifestations of the policies being introduced by new president Shigeru Suzuki in the wake of Seigo Watanabe's Crowdgate scandal. Ardija have already announced that the first team won't use Saitama Stadium for any home matches in 2011; this and a series of statements about contract renewals for individual players are part of Suzuki's ideas about a new openness regarding the club and how it communicates with supporters. To that end, it's been confirmed that Shunsuke Fukuda, Kazuhiro Murakami, Masakazu Kihara, Jun Kanakubo, Daisuke Watabe, Takuya Aoki and Keiki Shimizu will all remain on the squad.

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