Het Nieuwsblad are reporting that Westerlo are getting close to a deal to bring Yusuke Matsuo to Europe. The 25-year-old Japanese winger, who currently plays for Urawa Reds of the J-League, scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in 40 matches for the side. Prior to joining Urawa in January 2022, Matsuo played for Yokahama FC, where he amassed 75 caps, scoring 16 goals and providing eight assists.
Westerlo are looking to replace Halil Akbunar, who moved back to Turkey for family reasons after moving to Belgium in the summer.
Lyle Foster is also set to join Burnely imminently, with a deal being reported as between €7-11m depending on bonuses.
Foster has scored eight goals in 19 league matches for newly promoted Westerlo this season, as well as providing three assists. The striker joined Westerlo from Vitória Guimarães SC on a permanent deal in the summer of 2022, having been on loan with the Belgian side for the previous season. This is Foster’s second spell in Belgian football, having been loaned to Cercle Brugge by their parent club Monaco for the 2019/2020 season.
Burnley have already signed a large amount of players from the Belgian Pro League this season. Recently the Championship leaders picked up Sint-Truiden defender Ameen Al-Dakhil, having been unable to sign him in the summer.
