Manchester City head coach Andree Jeglertz says Yui Hasegawa could well be one of the best players in the world.
The 28-year-old has just signed a contract extension keeping her with the club for another four years, and has marked it with a great start to the season – including a goal against Brighton and Hove Albion last week that secured City’s first win of the Women’s Super League campaign.
And her manager says that although it is difficult to deliberate on who is the best player in the world, she is definitely one of the top players operating in her position.
“I always think it’s difficult to say which is the best [player] in the world but definitely she already is one of the best midfielders,” Jeglertz said to journalists in a press conference this week, in quotes reported by the club’s official website.
“But with that said there are still parts that she needs to grow in. It is also depending on her team-mates.
“She’s a good player but it’s also beneficial if she has great players around her that give her the possibility to have a little bit of a freer role, that players can support her.
“Yui also needs to adapt to other players. That relationship will grow during the season.
“A lot of things have come quite far already but still think there are other parts that need to be developed according to the relationship with the other players.”
“Yui Hasegawa is extremely and intelligent and skilful”
And he also talked in more detail about the qualities he thinks that she has and that she brings to the team.
“Yui is [an] extremely intelligent and skilful player. For this team she can participate in the build-up but also higher up in the final third.
“For a midfielder player today, you need to be dynamic. You can’t just be part of the build-up. You need to be able to do both.
“And how we are playing now it is giving her possibilities to play in all different parts of the game, and I think that is beneficial for us – and also for her. It demands a little bit more and bigger challenges for her, but at the same time we get more of her skills in different phases of the game.”
Manchester City’s next WSL game is on Friday, 19th September, as they travel to London to face Tottenham Hotspur.
