Newcastle Jets have added significant winning pedigree to their Isuzu UTE A-League squad, signing 34-year-old Japanese winger Kota Mizunuma on a contract for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
Having persuaded the winger to move away from his native Japan for the first time in his career, the Jets also have the option to extend Mizunuma’s stay in Newcastle until the end of the 2025-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
A title winner with Marinos under Australian coach Kevin Muscat in 2022, the 34-year-old also boasts two caps for the Japanese national side.
“I can’t wait to meet all the fans,” said Mizunuma after putting pen to paper on his deal with the Jets.
In a professional career which so far spans 16 years, Mizunuma has also enjoyed significant domestic success in Japan with the likes of Cerezo Osaka where he won both the J. League Cup and Emperor’s Cup in 2017.
Furthermore, Mizunuma was also named in the 2022 J. League Best XI after helping Muscat and Co. win the title.
“Kota is a player who brings a wealth of experience and quality to our side,” said Jets head coach Rob Stanton.
Having officially now been registered, Kota is eligible for Newcastle’s upcoming Isuzu UTE A-League clash with Perth Glory where the Jets will look to bag their first home win of the campaign.
Mizunuma is the latest in a string of high-profile Japanese recruits to have moved to the Isuzu UTE A-League following on from the arrivals of defenders Yuto Misao and Takuya Okamoto at Perth Glory while Auckland FC also boast Japanese icon Hiroki Sakai.
