Ryoichi Maeda will be disappointed that his proposed move to West Ham United broke down last weekend, but the growing overseas interest in Japanese strikers is nevertheless an encouraging sign for the national team.

Jubilo Iwata forward Maeda failed to win a deal with West Ham after spending three days training with the London club, but fellow national team strikers Tadanari Lee and Mike Havenaar have both left the J. League for European teams this winter. Lee joined English Championship side Southampton while Havenaar signed with Dutch first-division outfit Vitesse Arnhem, and although both clubs are hardly among the continent's elite, the transfers are far from insignificant given Japan's dismal record in producing strikers capable of making their mark abroad.

From Akinori Nishizawa's brief stint at Bolton Wanderers to Masashi Oguro's struggles in Italy with Torino, the list of failures is extensive. Naohiro Takahara could be considered the exception after his goals earned him the nickname "Sushi Bomber" during five years in Germany with Hamburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, but even he did not enjoy the same level of success as midfielders like Hidetoshi Nakata and Shunsuke Nakamura.