Yu Hirakawa’s move to Bristol City from Machida Zelvia was made permanent this winter after an impressive start to life at Ashton GateYu Hirakawa started the first leg of Bristol City’s play-off semi-final(Image: Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

Liam Manning has lifted the lid on Yu Hirakawa’s off-the-pitch progress at Bristol City, explaining that the Robins winger managed to conduct his end-of-season meeting in English, having made the “huge” move to the Championship last summer.

Hirakawa was the Reds’ second signing of the summer transfer window, joining City on an initial loan from Machida Zelvia and quickly impressed supporters after a difficult start to his time to Ashton Gate. An injury sustained whilst away at the Olympics with Japan saw the 24-year-old miss the first three league games of the campaign but goals against both Middlesbrough and Preston North End raised expectations.

Even though the Japanese youth international played a more reduced role around the turn of the new year, the Robins opted to make his stay permanent after the winter transfer window, with the winger putting pen to paper on contract until the summer of 2028. He may have only started 18 games in his first season as a City player, but Hirakawa is already a fan favourite, even being crowd-surfed around the BS3 pitch after the Reds’ final day draw with Preston.

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Throughout the campaign, Manning has been insistent that it may not be until next year that supporters see the best of the 24-year-old, given the sheer amount of football he’s played over the last two years and the huge move he made last summer. While that remains the case, the City boss feels Hirakawa is already adapting well in both a footballing and cultural sense.

“He’s really exciting, isn’t he?” the Robins head coach told Bristol Live at the High Performance Centre. “Today, we did his whole meeting in English, which is probably 15 minutes where he’s listening and talking really well in English, which is probably one of the first times he’s done it.

“It’s such a huge move. The Championship is one of the hardest divisions in the world, and when you look at it, he’s had to come over and do 50 games off the back of doing a six-month season out there as well. He’s done 18 months and doesn’t know the language, which, can you imagine coming into work every day and being around a changing room of 25 people and you haven’t got any idea what they’re saying?

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“Then you go out on the pitch, and again, he’s got no idea what I’m saying,” Manning continued. “He’s having to really focus and observe because he’s got no idea in terms of what I’m saying. It’s such a big transition for him. I think he’s shown what he’s capable of, he’s shown some really exciting ‘wow’ moments, and he’s tough on himself.

“I quite like the fact he’s desperate for more goals and assists, he’s disappointed with his return on that this season, but he’s great to work with and someone that, for me, next season can be really exciting.”

Undoubtedly, Hirakawa looked more comfortable when deployed as the right or left-sided forward in Manning’s 4-2-3-1 system utilised at the start of the season than he did in the 3-4-2-1 formation the Reds tended to use after the turn of the new year.

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While that system ensured City ended their 17-year wait for a top six finish, the 24-year-old didn’t look particularly comfortable in the more central role as a number 10 and wasn’t always as influential when used as the right wing-back.

However, the final day draw with Preston, as well as the opening 45 minutes of the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Sheffield United, showed that the Olympian could carry a threat from the deeper position.

Hopefully, after a full pre-season with Manning’s side, a much-needed rest and another few months in the West Country, Hirakawa will be able to hit the ground running next term and really hit his stride in red and white.

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