It is becoming somewhat of a yearly tradition at OH Leuven that whoever is bought in the summer is either gone by January or the following summer. This time, midfielder Kento Misao has left the club after barely 12 months to join Kashima Antlers. Misao only came in last summer from Santa Clara, but is already back in Japan to re-join the side he played for prior to moving to Europe. The midfielder made 21 appearances for OH Leuven, scoring once and grabbing one assist. He re-joins the Antlers looking to add to his incredible 243 appearances for the side.
Misao is set to be just one of a number of departees from last summers window. Record signing Jonatan Braut Brunes was not included in the training squad by head coach Oscar Garcia, while there are then also rumours that defender Florian Miguel will be allowed to leave. This pattern is one of the reasons why the side found themselves in a relegation scrap last season, and could well do the same if they do not get the recruitment right this time around. Already, the squad is looking unbalanced with a very strong central midfield core but not much outside of that. Given that they want to add another talented midfielder in William Balikwisha to this area is questionable, even if the departure of Misao somewhat frees up space.
OH Leuven can ill afford to have another summer of poor recruitment. The side should learn the lessons of their sister club Leicester City in the dangers of relegation.
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