Bayern release Japan’s Usami after loan spell

TOKYO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich have decided not to make Japanese teenager Takashi Usami’s loan deal a permanent one, J.League club Gamba Osaka said on Thursday.

The highly rated 19-year-old joined the German

side last June following his first call-up to Japan’s senior squad, vowing at the time to become the “new Arjen Robben”, Bayern’s mercurial Dutch winger.

Despite scoring all five goals in a 5-0 friendly rout of a local side in Qatar last month, Usami has failed to convince Bayern to sign him on a full transfer.

“It’s a real pity for Usami but I hope he views it as a valuable experience,” Gamba president Kikuo Kanamori told local media. “We would like him to come back (to Gamba).”

Usami, who made three substitute appearances for Bayern’s first team, is expected to look for another European club.