Soccer: Kobe’s 21-year-old forward Oda joins Hearts in Scotland

Vissel Kobe and Japan under-21 forward Yutaro Oda has signed with Heart of Midlothian on a three-and-a-half-year deal, the Scottish Premiership club announced Tuesday.

Oda came through the ranks at his local J-League club Kobe and has been capped by each Japanese national youth side from under-15 onward.

“I have been looking for a challenge, so this is a great club for me to come to. I am really looking forward to showing the fans what I can do,” he said on the Hearts website.

“When I had my meeting with Hearts, it was clear that they had done their research on me. To me, that shows that they ...