Thai media TNT broke the news that Nguyen Quang Hai, the star of the Vietnamese national team, who is known as the "Vietnamese Messi", may embark on a trip to the Japanese league to join the Kashima Antlers, a team with a long and strong history.
It was previously rumored that the Euroleague became Nguyen Quang Hai's next stop, with some reports even suggesting that he could join Ligue 1 side Nantes. However, in the end, the olive branch from Kashima Antlers attracted the Vietnamese talent.
Compared to the possibility of joining Ligue 1, Nguyen Quang Hai's move to the Japanese league seems more reasonable. If he were to go to Europe, he would have to wait for a months-long match-free period. Given that the transfer window for Europe's top leagues has recently closed, even leagues such as Austria, Switzerland and Denmark will not reopen until early July. This means that the 25-year-old midfielder could face a four to five month break from now until the start of the new European season in early August.
Although Nguyen Quang Hai himself has yet to publicly reveal his future moves, the possibility of the Vietnamese superstar joining Asia's top soccer scene is extremely high. According to a tip-off from Thai media outlet TNT, he is targeting Kashima Antlers, the dominant Japanese soccer team that has won the league title eight times, six league cups and five Emperor's Cups.
Moreover, the Kashima Antlers have thrown an olive branch to Nguyen Quang Hai. With the official start of the Japanese J-League and the transfer window deadline (March 25) passing, if Nguyen Quang Hai wishes to play for Kashima Antlers in this season's J-League, he will have to wait until the mid-season transfer window opens, which will be the end of June at the earliest.
