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Asian football might not enjoy the glitz and glamour of its European counterpart, but the giant continent has always produced some world-class footballing talent.
We've seen the likes of Park Ji-Sung, Shinji Kagawa, Ali Daei, Yuto Nagatomo and Tim Cahill make a name for themselves in some of the world's leading clubs in the past, with some of them even lifting numerous trophies.
Five most valuable Asian players
The current generation of Asian footballers are just as exciting to watch; the very best ones have already become leading figures for their respective sides, making them hot properties in the transfer market.
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On that note, we look at the five most valuable Asian players right now:
#5 Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt) - £14.4 million
Last season witnessed the breakout of yet another Asian talent in Daichi Kamada. He impressed in the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt, netting six goals, including a stunning brace at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal.
Kamada is only a midfielder, but regularly takes up positions which are more familiar to a centre-forward while also shouldering the creative mantle for the Eagles. He made a joint-high ten assists in the Bundesliga last season.
From struggling to start to become the heartbeat of the side, Kamada has turned it around with Frankfurt in just over a year. At 24, he is only likely to get better.
#4 Takehiro Tomiyasu (Bologna) - £16.2 million
The only defender in this list, Takehiro Tomiyasu would've been a household name by now if he wasn't plying his trade with a relatively mediocre outfit like Bologna, whom he joined at the start of 2019-20 season.
After humble beginnings in the local Japanese league, the centre-back who evolved to a full-back, was plucked by Belgian side Sint-Truiden. Following an impressive season there, Tomiyasu arrived in Serie A, where he continues to make a mark.
The 22-year old is physically strong, which allows him to dominate on the ball. Moreover, his two-footedness is a useful quality while operating as a central defender.
Takehiro Tomoyasu has already scored thrice in the 2020-21 Serie A for Bologna.
#3 Takefusa Kubo (Getafe) - £18 million
Another highly-rated Japanese who is currently on Real Madrid's books, Takefusa Kubo, is honing his talent at Getafe after a disappointing loan spell with Villarreal in the first half of the season.
He is yet to play a single game for Los Blancos after signing for them in 2019. Despite a promising season with Mallorca last year, Kubo failed to force his way into Zinedine Zidane's side, who instead loaned him out again.
A winger by trade, Kubo thrives in one-on-one situations, and can make rapid changes of direction with quick footwork. He is a bag of talent, and it didn't take him long to make an impression with Los Azulones.
Coming off the bench for his debut, the 19-year old helped set up a goal for Jaime Mata which sparked a comeback victory against Elche. Kubo will hope to continue in the same vein till the end of the season and possibly beyond.
#2 Sardar Azmoun (Zenit St. Petersburg) - £20.7 million
That Sardar Azmoun hasn't played in any of Europe's top five leagues yet continues to be a mystery, as the Iranian sensation has long shown potential to succeed at the elite level.
Widely touted as the 'Iranian Messi', Azmoun shot to fame for his performances with Team Melli at the 2018 World Cup. Soon enough, Russian giants Zenit St. Petersburg came calling.
Azmoun has struck 44 goals in 73 appearances in two and a half seasons with Zenit St. Petersburg. He was the Russian's league's top-scorer last season, scoring 17 goals, the same as his teammate Artem Dzyuba.
Strong in the air and possessing terrific bursts of acceleration, Azmoun has previously generated interest from Liverpool, Everton, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Valencia. At 26, this might be an ideal time for any of these sides to pull out all the stops to land Azmoun.
#1 Son-Heung Min (Tottenham Hotspur) - £81 million
Does he need an introduction? Son-Heung Min is not just the most valuable player from Asia, but also the best too, that too by a proverbial country mile.
He may not have too many trophies to show for his efforts. But his stats speak for themselves - 102 goals and 59 assists for Tottenham Hotspur in 263 games since joining from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015.
The South Korean is currently enjoying the most prolific spell of his career, scoring 17 goals and 12 assists in all competitions from 34 games this season. That includes 13 strikes in the Premier League, which is only behind that of Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes.
The Korean wizard, however, is more than just goals and assists. His dribbling skills, vision, creativity and technical ability, are second to none, while his versatility to play across multiple positions offers his side unique tactical flexibility.
Son-Heung Min has been around the block for so long that it's easy to forget that he is still only 28 and has plenty more years left at the top.
