Sideways Sammy

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto becomes Coventry City’s first signing directly from continental Europe since the summer of 2020 – which saw Gustavo Hamer arrive, along with Julien Dacosta and Marcel Hilssner. Through a combination of risk aversion, changes in work permit rules and a lack of funds, the club had clearly made a move away from signing overseas players, with experience of the Championship and/or having played for Chelsea seeming to be key prerequisites required of recent Sky Blues signings, which limits the potential pool of new players. The addition of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto marks a shift in approach back towards overseas markets, which provides the club a wider range of possibilities and indicates an appetite for risk has returned.

As for the player himself, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto arrives at Coventry City off the back of being player of the season at relegated Belgian top-flight side, KV Oostende. A diligent and skilful wide player approaching his peak years, Sakamoto was a driving force in a losing cause on the Belgian coast, creating six goals for his relatively low-scoring team. He now joins a Sky Blues side that hasn’t played with wingers for well over three seasons, which makes this move a curious one. There have been indications that the left-footed Sakamoto has been brought in to as a right wing-back, which is somewhere he has played in the past, but Mark Robins’ quotes after his signing indicate that the Japan international is likely to play further up the pitch, which offers the team valuable cover against the fitness concerns over Callum O’Hare and Kasey Palmer. Nonetheless, Sakamoto’s ability to cover a few positions offers the manager some useful possibilities to change things up both in games and between games over the course of the season.

While Tatsuhiro Sakamoto doesn’t necessarily have a direct natural place in the team, his pedigree and work-rate as a footballer seem to make him a good fit for a Mark Robins’ Coventry City side. Good players will always find a way to re-shape a manager’s plans and make themselves fit in, Sakamoto’s reputation upon arriving at the Sky Blues indicates he may be able to do that. At the very least, Sakamoto adds another valuable option for Mark Robins’ attacking options, helping spread the burden of having to replace the set-to-depart, Viktor Gyokeres. Sakamoto is something different to what the team already has and that should be a good thing.