V. League club send young talents to Japan

Two 22-year-old players, Pham Van Luan and Vu Hoang Quan, will join FC Ryukyu in second division J. League 2, while two 20-year-old players Nguyen Van Son and Bui Ngoc Long will play for FC Azul Claro Numazu in J. League 3.

It's expected these four players would fly to Japan after the Lunar New Year holiday next month. J. League 2 will begin on Feb. 19 and J. League 3, on March 12.

In 2021, Saigon FC President Tran Hoa Binh had expressed the desire to send young talents of Vietnamese football to Japan for more exposure. However, the plan got delayed due to Covid-19.

"My biggest wish is for Vietnamese football to develop faster and reduce foreign players dependency in V. League. Therefore, I want to give these young players a "Japanese engine" so they can develop further after returning.

"With Luan and Quan, they must prove their worth to play in J. League 2. Son and Long can compete right away in J. League 3," Binh said.