South Korea: effectively zero players; Japan's EPL presence grows again... Morita, overcoming World Cup elimination, joins Hull City at 31

*This content was translated by AI.

While the number of South Korean players competing in the English Premier League (EPL) faces near-total extinction, Japan has produced another EPL player once again. Japanese national team midfielder Hidefusa Morita, who was left out of the final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, has achieved a career turnaround by joining the EPL at age 31.

Hull City, newly promoted to the EPL, officially announced on the 25th (Korean time) via its club website and social media that it had signed Morita. The contract is for two years and includes an option for the club to extend by one additional year.

Until this summer, Morita played for Sporting CP in Portugal. With his contract expiring, he became a free agent (FA) and needed to find a new team. According to Japanese media such as Soccer Digest, both Hull City and Ipswich Town—the other newly promoted EPL side—showed interest in signing Morita, but his final destination was decided to be Hull City.

Hull City successfully returned to the EPL for the first time in nine years by passing the promotion playoffs. With the addition of Morita, who brings rich experience, the club has strengthened its midfield ahead of the new season.

Morita began his professional career at Kawasaki Frontale in Japan's J League before moving to Santa Clara in Portugal and joining Sporting in 2022. Over four seasons, he established himself as a regular midfielder and won the Portuguese Primeira Liga twice.

He also served as a key player for the Japanese national team for many years, participating in the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup. However, he was not included in the final squad for the recently concluded North American World Cup qualifiers.

Despite the pain of missing out on the World Cup, a new opportunity has arrived. At age 31, Morita experienced the joy of joining the EPL—the world's highest-level stage—for the first time in his career.

Through the club, Morita expressed his feelings upon joining: "I am very excited to join Hull City. I look forward to playing in front of the fans. I am eager for what lies ahead."

Gabe Tan, editor-in-chief of ESPN Asia, praised Hull City's signing of Morita, stating, "They have acquired a very skilled central midfielder. He is a typical central midfielder capable of dominating the midfield with high work rate and clean passing distribution."

He continued, "Morita has gained extensive experience in Portugal's highly competitive league. Hull City has signed a capable and well-rounded central midfielder."

Tan further emphasized, "Hull City can assign Morita an immediate role. He may be exactly the type of player they were looking for—not a project player to develop over the long term, but a strong reinforcement that can boost the team's strength right away."

With Morita joining Hull City, the total number of Japanese players set to compete in the EPL for the new season has risen to seven.

Including Wataru Endo (Liverpool), who announced his retirement after serving as captain of the Japanese national team, players such as Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), Ao Tanaka (Leeds United), Kota Takai (Tottenham Hotspur), and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto (Coventry City) are expected to feature in the EPL.

In contrast, it is possible that no South Korean players will appear in the EPL during the new season.

Son Heung-min, long regarded as one of the top strikers representing the EPL, currently plays for LAFC. Meanwhile, Hwang Hee-chan's club Wolverhampton Wanderers has been relegated to the Championship for the 2025–2026 season.

Min-hyuk Yang of Tottenham Hotspur and Ji-soo Kim of Brentford are reportedly likely to be loaned out again in the new season. Seung-su Park, who plays for Newcastle United, is also expected to gain experience through a loan move or by playing for age-group teams rather than immediately featuring in the first team.

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*This content was translated by AI.