Best central midfielders in J1 League

The highest-potential central midfielders in J1 League, ranked on Field Insider.

At a glance

Y. Funabashi of Kashima is the standout for raw talent across central midfielders in J1 League, with a Field Insider Rating of 54.3, and T. Ohgihara has been the form player this season, grading 45.3, and M. Hasegawa leads the scoring with 7 goals.

The numbers a scout watches are the year-on-year jumps: M. Hasegawa has improved his Season rating most, up +31.7 on last season, while S. Fukuoka's scouting Rating has risen fastest, +2.1 over the same span. Those are the players whose trajectory is bending upward fastest.

By our market-value index, M. Hasegawa of Albirex Niigata is the most valuable name in this group at 20.3.

Kyoto Sanga · 24/25→25/26

Most improved

M. Hasegawa+31.7SsN

Albirex Niigata · 24/25→25/26

50 players · ranked by best potentialCustomise →

#	Player	Team	Age	Season	Rating
1	Y. Funabashi Central midfielder	Kashima	24	256050%	5425.1%
2	D. Matsuoka Central midfielder	Avispa Fukuoka	25	298.9%	531.3%
3	Y. Arai Central midfielder	Tokyo Verdy	23	344685.7%	5216.7%
4	K. Tawaratsumida Central midfielder	FC Tokyo	22	220.5%	515.4%
5	S. Anzai Central midfielder	FC Tokyo	23	267.7%	518.5%
6	K. Yasui Central midfielder	Urawa	26	3334.3%	50±0%
7	R. Sato Central midfielder	Fagiano Okayama	19	10	50
8	L. Nozawa Central midfielder	FC Tokyo	22	10142.5%	490.8%
9	K. Morita Central midfielder	Tokyo Verdy	25	2914.1%	499.1%
10	S. Fukuoka Central midfielder	Kyoto Sanga	26	2172.6%	484.6%
11	R. Sakata Central midfielder	Cerezo Osaka	22	8240.9%	473.5%
12	M. Hasegawa Central midfielder	Albirex Niigata	27	45245.7%	473.1%
13	Keisuke Kasai Central midfielder	Albirex Niigata	23	14	46
14	Matheus Bueno Central midfielder	Shimizu S-pulse	27	34313.4%	4512.6%
15	Y. Matsuhashi Central midfielder	Tokyo Verdy	24	1213.3%	458%
16	João Pedro Central midfielder	Kyoto Sanga	26	20	43
17	Masa Central midfielder	Kashiwa Reysol	27	15345.5%	4212.3%
18	T. Matsumoto Central midfielder	Urawa	27	2033.6%	4222.6%
19	T. Ko Central midfielder	FC Tokyo	28	434.9%	4116.1%
20	K. Yamada Central midfielder	Yokohama FC	27	3393.5%	4116.3%
21	T. Yamane Central midfielder	Yokohama FC	27	2512.9%	4014.1%
22	T. Kaneko Central midfielder	Urawa	28	27133.9%	404.2%
23	R. Tabei Central midfielder	Fagiano Okayama	27	29	40
24	T. Fujii Central midfielder	Shonan Bellmare	27	123.4%	3920.4%
25	Y. Matsuo Central midfielder	Urawa	28	2213.7%	391.8%
26	T. Hirato Central midfielder	Kyoto Sanga	29	2825.9%	378.4%
27	Y. Kuwasaki Central midfielder	Vissel Kobe	28	18326.2%	376.3%
28	K. Endo Central midfielder	FC Tokyo	28	25119.6%	3613.1%
29	Y. Ideguchi Central midfielder	Vissel Kobe	29	3480.5%	3614.8%
30	T. Shimamura Central midfielder	Albirex Niigata	27	1038.1%	3522.2%
31	Y. Iwasaki Central midfielder	Avispa Fukuoka	28	1877.5%	3526.1%
32	K. Saito Central midfielder	Tokyo Verdy	29	325.6%	3423.9%
33	Y. Naganuma Central midfielder	Urawa	29	1752.1%	3320.8%
34	T. Yanagi Central midfielder	Fagiano Okayama	28	1436.2%	3326.6%
35	T. Uchida Central midfielder	Nagoya Grampus	28	1322.9%	3226.8%
36	Y. Higuchi Central midfielder	Kashima	29	1432.7%	3225.1%
37	K. Shiihashi Central midfielder	Nagoya Grampus	29	266.6%	3224.6%
38	Y. Kamiya Central midfielder	Fagiano Okayama	29	213400%	311.6%
39	Capixaba Central midfielder	Shimizu S-pulse	29	241.7%	3122.8%
40	E. Shirai Central midfielder	Albirex Niigata	30	3234.5%	3119.2%
41	K. Miyahara Central midfielder	Tokyo Verdy	30	1942.1%	3023%
42	K. Misao Central midfielder	Kashima	30	182.9%	2914.1%
43	T. Arai Central midfielder	Albirex Niigata	29	19	29
44	Samuel Gustafson Central midfielder	Urawa	31	313.4%	2815%
45	Y. Asano Central midfielder	Nagoya Grampus	29	768.2%	2729.9%
46	K. Nakayama Central midfielder	Nagoya Grampus	30	1775%	2625.3%
47	K. Chinen Central midfielder	Kashima	31	3138.5%	2532.2%
48	A. Čavrić Central midfielder	Kashima	32	3222.6%	2513.3%
49	K. Koizumi Central midfielder	FC Tokyo	31	243.6%	2433.4%
50	H. Onaga Central midfielder	Tokyo Verdy	31	1651.5%	2338.8%