Most In-Form defenders in J1 League 2027

The most in-form defenders in J1 League in 2027, ranked on Field Insider.

Most in-form goalkeepers in J1 League Most in-form midfielders in J1 League Most in-form attackers in J1 League Best defenders in J1 League Top-scoring defenders in J1 League Most valuable defenders in J1 League

At a glance

R. Handa of Gamba Osaka is the standout for raw talent across defenders in J1 League, with a Field Insider Rating of 56.5, and K. Anzai has been the form player this season, grading 50.4, and Y. Kimoto leads the scoring with 2 goals.

The numbers a scout watches are the year-on-year jumps: H. Inamura has improved his Season rating most, up +35.3 on last season, while R. Handa's scouting Rating has risen fastest, +3.7 over the same span. Those are the players whose trajectory is bending upward fastest.

By our market-value index, R. Handa of Gamba Osaka is the most valuable name in this group at 20.7.

Gamba Osaka · 24/25→25/26

Most improved

H. Inamura+35.3SsN

FC Tokyo · 24/25→25/26

50 players · ranked by best this seasonCustomise →

	Player	Team
1	K. Anzai Full-back	Kashima	31	5022.3%	2634.8%
2	A. Scholz Centre-back	FC Tokyo	34	46127.1%	16±0%
3	R. Handa Full-back	Gamba Osaka	24	4666.1%	577%
4	T. Deng Centre-back	Yokohama F. Marinos	29	45117.9%	3123.9%
5	J. Quiñónes Centre-back	Yokohama F. Marinos	29	45101.3%	31±0%
6	H. Araki Centre-back	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	30	4516.5%	35±0%
7	K. Suwama Centre-back	Yokohama F. Marinos	23	43	44
8	H. Inamura Centre-back	FC Tokyo	24	38303.2%	475.4%
9	Diego Full-back	Vissel Kobe	31	3874.1%	2815.4%
10	Matheus Thuler Full-back	Vissel Kobe	27	375.9%	45±0%
11	S. Sasaki Centre-back	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	37	3628.1%	2227.5%
12	G. Sakai Centre-back	Vissel Kobe	35	3514.1%	18±0%
13	K. Matsubara Centre-back	Yokohama F. Marinos	33	3582.6%	1641.4%
14	S. Muroya Full-back	FC Tokyo	32	34101.8%	19±0%
15	R. Inoue Centre-back	Cerezo Osaka	29	33401.5%	27±0%
16	Dion-Johan Cools Centre-back	Cerezo Osaka	30	31292.4%	24±0%
17	T. Inoue Full-back	Yokohama F. Marinos	24	30229.7%	4620.3%
18	T. Yamakawa Full-back	Vissel Kobe	29	2934.6%	4410.3%
19	N. Arai Full-back	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	30	2932.3%	3316.1%
20	T. Oka Centre-back	FC Tokyo	25	2780.7%	472.9%
21	K. Chida Centre-back	Tokyo Verdy	32	2517.4%	1846.3%
22	G. Shōji Centre-back	Machida Zelvia	33	2448.1%	25±0%
23	S. Hatanaka Centre-back	Cerezo Osaka	31	238.1%	3212.2%
24	A. Ohata Centre-back	Cerezo Osaka	25	23294.7%	43±0%
25	Y. Miyamoto Centre-back	Urawa	26	2224.1%	492%
26	R. Ogawa Full-back	Kashima	29	2119.4%	31±0%
27	H. Omori Centre-back	Fagiano Okayama	24	2013.7%	4973%
28	N. Ueda Full-back	Kashima	32	1962.1%	34±0%
29	D. Hall Centre-back	JEF United Chiba	27	1746.9%	39119.1%
30	Y. Suzuki Full-back	Fagiano Okayama	28	15	27
31	Y. Honda Centre-back	Shimizu S-pulse	35	1528.9%	135.1%
32	D. Okamura Full-back	Machida Zelvia	29	1566.3%	38±0%
33	Mateus Brunetti Centre-back	Shimizu S-pulse	26	1587.3%	38±0%
34	K. Suzuki Centre-back	Tokyo Verdy	24	15400%	422.2%
35	T. Kishimoto Full-back	Gamba Osaka	29	1436.3%	28±0%
36	N. Hayashi Centre-back	Tokyo Verdy	28	1445.4%	32±0%
37	E. Gyotoku Centre-back	Nagoya Grampus	21	13	26
38	H. Sugai Centre-back	Shimizu S-pulse	27	1360.1%	455.9%
39	H. Fujii Centre-back	Nagoya Grampus	25	1352.4%	43±0%
40	Pedro Romano Centre-back	Kawasaki Frontale	25	12	49
41	Y. Tatsuta Full-back	Fagiano Okayama	28	1264.2%	38±0%
42	T. Kawano Centre-back	JEF United Chiba	30	12	16±0%
43	Y. Suzuki Centre-back	Kyoto Sanga	34	1264.4%	2411.1%
44	R. Hatsuse Full-back	Gamba Osaka	29	12342.3%	27±0%
45	H. Taniguchi Centre-back	Kawasaki Frontale	27	1180.6%	5114.5%
46	T. Koga Centre-back	Kashiwa Reysol	27	1184.7%	50±0%
47	Y. Matsunagane Full-back	Kawasaki Frontale	22	10442.1%	3034%
48	S. Miura Full-back	Kawasaki Frontale	26	1053.8%	528.1%
49	S. Nakatani Full-back	Gamba Osaka	30	1072.5%	34±0%
50	K. Sato Full-back	Kyoto Sanga	26	970.3%	47±0%