Confirmed: Birmingham City sanction late Ayumu Yokoyama transfer
Birmingham City have sent Japanese winger Ayumu Yokoyama on loan to Belgian Pro League leaders Genk for the remainder of the season.
Yokoyama only joined Blues in August from J-League side Sagan Tosu, but his game time under Chris Davies has been limited. The 21-year-old has appeared 10 times as a substitute in League One, playing just 163 minutes of football, and has been omitted from the squad on 11 occasions.
He has started all of Blues’ games in the run to the Vertu Trophy last-eight and netted in victories over Fulham’s under-21s and Swindon Town to top score in that competition. Yokoyama has also started two FA Cup victories over Blackpool and Lincoln City.
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But Blues clearly feel he is better served going on loan for the second half of the campaign with Davies possessing a number of options out wide. New signing Kieran Dowell played out wide on his Blues debut against Rotherham and Davies still has Emil Hansson to come back from injury.
Belgium has been a popular destination for Japanese players looking to kickstart careers in Europe in recent years. Brighton ace Kaoru Mitoma spent a season with Union SG before becoming a Premier League force and ex-Blues man Koji Miyoshi had four years at Royal Antwerp.
Yokoyama joins a Genk side who are currently leading the Belgian Pro League by six points. There are potentially another 16 league games to play for Yokoyama, including the end-of-season play-offs.
