“A signing with the future firmly in mind”: Finding Maika Hamano’s best position at Chelsea next season – scout report

Chelsea Women may still be celebrating their fourth successive WSL title, having lifted the trophy on Saturday afternoon to end what has been a breath-taking campaign, but planning is already underway for next season as manager Emma Hayes looks to improve her squad and to prevent their rivals from closing the gap.

Eintracht Frankfurt Frauen’s Germany midfielder Sjoeke Nüsken has already been confirmed as a new arrival, whilst there are strong rumours linking Lyon Féminin’s USA playmaker Catarina Macario and PSG Féminine’s Canada full-back Ashley Lawrence with moves to Kingsmeadow too.

However, as well as those star names, another player who will be hoping to make an impact is 19-year-old Japan forward Maika Hamano.

She joined in January from INAC Kobe Leonessa, following impressive displays at the 2022 U20 World Cup, where she ended as the second-highest top scorer with four goals, so is not technically a new signing, but will feel like one due to her being immediately loaned out to Swedish side Hammarby for the 2023 Damallsvenskan season upon her arrival.

What many fans will be wondering is where she could best fit into Chelsea’s system, and that is a difficult question to answer, with her having the necessary characteristics to operate in several different roles. However, this tactical analysis will look to assess the possibilities and suggest some solutions, first by analysing her performances for Hammarby and for Japan and then by comparing her to some of those Chelsea players who operate in similar roles.

Hammarby

Sending Maika Hamano to Hammarby was not a case of Chelsea picking a club at random, with the Swedish club being carefully selected due to their reputation for playing attractive attacking football that sees them create plenty of goalscoring opportunities. Chelsea, therefore, knew that Hamano would be in the perfect environment to hone her craft and demonstrate why she is seen by many as a star of the future.

The fact that she has already scored four times in 10 appearances indicates that she has accepted that challenge, with her testing the goalkeeper from different areas of the pitch and having plenty of shots on goal.

However, there is more to her game than simply being a poacher, with her also being a reliable creator and someone who can link different areas of the team together when they are progressing the ball up the field. This is something that Hammarby have used to their advantage as they have risen up the league table, with them deploying her more often than not as an attacking midfielder or a winger rather than as a centre forward.

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