Chelsea Women secure young forward: teenager Maika Hamano joins

Given the ages of many of CFC’s forwards, and the departure of Bethany England, Emma Hayes decided it was time to secure a player for the future. Coming from the same club in Japan as Ji So-yun in 2014, INAC Kobe Leonessa, Maika Hamano takes her talents to west London, inking a contract until the summer of 2027. So far during this current season, Hamano has made seven appearances for the defending Japanese league champions, netting two goals along with one assist before signing for the Blues.

Hamano will go on loan in Sweden to Hammarby IF ahead of the club’s kick-off to the season on January 21. In the 2022 U-20 Women’s World Cup, she played the most minutes of any Japanese attacker, leading the team in goals while collecting an assist in the process of leading Japan to a second-place finish in the tournament behind Seville youngster Inma Gabarro. Despite coming up just short as a team to a quality Spanish side, Hamano was awarded the Golden Ball, which recognizes the tournament’s best player.

Hayes reflected on the signing in her pre-game press conference ahead of the Arsenal match:

"“Maika is a fantastic talent, she is a Golden Ball and Silver Boot winner having shone at the Under-20 World Cup last year. We are really looking forward to seeing how Maika develops during her time out on loan with Hammarby IF in Sweden.”"

Her goals included the only two against Ghana in the group stage and the game-clinching goal over Brazil where she clipped the goalkeeper to send Japan through to the final. Hamano’s goal just a few minutes after halftime against the French in the quarterfinals helped force extra time where her team would prevail to a nail-biting victory on penalties. Her performance with the U-20 team earned Hamano her debut for the senior team in October against Nigeria.

Ji may have been an established player at the senior level in Japan before she made the jump to London, but at the end of the day, Hamano is going to have time to get acclimated to what it takes to play football in Europe. For her to join a club that has been consistently near the top of the Swedish top flight in goals scored over the last two seasons is going to provide her with the opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net.

The Swedish season runs from the end of January to the middle of November, so Hamano will not return to London from her loan spell until nearly three months into CFC’s 2023/24 campaign.

When Ji was a part of the South Korean U-20 World Cup roster, she herself finished with the Silver Ball on eight total goals, just like Hamano this past summer. By no means is Hamano Ji, but for CFC to have a successful track record with INAC Kobe Leonessa definitely bodes well for the future of this player in west London.

Hamano is viewed by many as one of the most talented teenage strikers in the game today, and with time, this could prove to be a signing that helps the Blues for years to come. So far this season, Aggie Beever-Jones has been extremely impressive going forward for Everton, and if both of them are given the chance by the club, Beever-Jones could be joined by Hamano in the frontline for the Blues in the future. In the attack, there is going to be a multitude of opportunities for players to assert themselves in a few years.

Hamano very well could be the next player to lead the line for Chelsea when this talented pool of players moves onto the next chapter of their respective careers.