Kaoru Mitoma has been named as Most Valuable Player (MVP) 2022 by the Japan Pro-Footballers Association (JPFA).
The 25-year-old can reflect on a hugely successful year, having helped Royale Union Saint-Gilloise finish second in the Belgian League and qualifying for the Champions League before making his Premier League debut for Albion.
The winger also had a breakthrough year on the international stage, scoring twice for Japan against Australia that ensured Samurai Blue qualified for the World Cup.
Kaoru then went onto help his country reach the last 16 of the tournament, notably assisting their winning goal against Spain in the group stages when he just managed to keep the ball in play.
The JPFA have also named Kaoru in their best XI, alongside:
- Schmidt Daniel – Sint-Truiden VV
- Ko Itakura – Borussia Mönchengladbach
- Wataru Endo – VfB Stuttgart
- Takehiro Tomiyasu – Arsenal
- Takefusa Kubo – Real Sociedad
- Ritsu Doan – SC Freiburg
- Takuma Asano – VfL Bochum
- Junya Ito – Stade Reims
- Kyogo Furuhashi – Celtic