Big in Japan but fading at Hearts: the curious case of Ryotaro Meshino

Ryotaro Meshino celebrates his goal against Rangers in October.

Hearts had eight bona fide attacking players in their squad for the chastening 5-0 defeat by Celtic at Parkhead.

Jamie Walker, Anthony McDonald, Steven Naismith and Liam Boyce all started; Uche Ikpeazu, Conor Washington, Donis Avdijaj and Lewis Moore were all on the bench.

Yet once again there was no place in Daniel Stendel’s pool for Ryotaro Meshino. When the Japanese midfielder arrived on loan from Manchester City amid a wave of late-August hype and made an impressive early impact, nobody could have envisaged that six months down the line he would find himself beneath youngsters like McDonald, Moore and Euan Henderson in the pecking order.

That is Meshino’s current reality, however. The Japanese has appeared in only four of Stendel’s 12 games in charge and now hasn’t made the match-night squad for either of the last two and hasn’t kicked a ball in the last three. Even prior to the German’s arrival in December, Meshino had been drifting towards the periphery, starting only two of the previous seven games under Craig Levein and Austin MacPhee.

Asked by the Evening News earlier this week about Meshino’s omission, the manager said: “I think it is a bit difficult for him. Sometimes he shows in training and games that he is a player with special abilities and special qualities for Hearts. We need to see all of this in the games.”

Ryo difficulties

Supporters would largely agree with Stendel’s assertion that Meshino hasn’t done enough in matches over recent months to justify inclusion. His last start - and his only one of 2020 - was terminated after an hour following an ineffective display away to St Johnstone a week past Saturday. Stendel also hinted that Meshino, who was away on international duty last month, hasn’t yet had a proper chance to grasp the exact tactical requirements to play in the front area of his team.

While Meshino has clearly failed to build on his early promise - when he shone in particular at home to Motherwell, away to Hibs and at home to Rangers in his opening weeks at Hearts - it must be remembered that he excelled in his last start prior to his recent outing in Perth. The 21-year-old was one of the best players on the pitch and scored a magnificent goal in the 1-1 draw at home to Aberdeen at the end of December in which Hearts produced one of their most impressive displays of the season.

Technically one of the best players at the club, Meshino clearly still has it in his locker to be a difference-maker for Hearts. The Japanese press corps who have attended most of his games since he arrived in Edinburgh certainly believe so. Three journalists from his homeland were at the Celtic game on Wednesday and were somewhat perplexed at seeing their highly-regarded compatriot’s name absent once again from the team sheet of the worst-performing team in Scotland’s top flight.

Japanese interest

In conversation with the Evening News in the Celtic Park press room, they explained that our story containing Stendel’s quotes about Meshino in the build-up to the match had been of significant interest to those in Japan who have been following the fortunes of the popular former Gamba Osaka playmaker. This was evidenced by the fact the story generated an exceptionally high volume of online traffic considering it was about a Hearts player who hasn’t been featuring recently and isn’t currently deemed a key man by supporters.

At the end of his media debrief following the 5-0 defeat by Celtic, Stendel was asked three questions about Meshino’s situation by one of the Japanese journalists. The manager suggested that it was merely a case of other attackers being chosen for positive reasons rather than a negative reflection of Meshino. When asked what the Japanese Under-23 internationalist had to do to get into his team, Stendel - who seemed slightly bewildered at being interrogated, at the end of such a chastening evening, about a player who has barely featured under him - paused for a moment and smiled politely before saying that this would remain between he and Meshino.

The Japanese certainly isn’t the first player to lose his way following a promising start to his Hearts career; see Glenn Whelan, who joined around the same time as him, for example. However, there persists a feeling that if Meshino can embrace Stendel’s high-pressing style and find favour under the manager - the way Jamie Walker has in recent matches - then he could still become a significant asset in the ongoing battle for Premiership survival.