Newcastle fans will love what Bo Henriksen said about Kaishu Sano as £36m bid reported

Newcastle United are heavily linked with Mainz star Kaishu Sano after his sensational performances for Japan in the 2026 World Cup.

The 25-year-old was one of the East Asian side’s best players, and netted the opener in their 2-1 defeat to Brazil in the round of 32.

Now, reports have emerged that the Magpies are preparing a £36million bid for the midfielder as they search for a replacement for Sandro Tonali.

Sano has made a name for himself in the Bundesliga and is heavily rated by his former manager, Bo Henriksen, who believed that he could go on to be one of the best midfielders in the world.

The Mainz star made 34 appearances in the German top-flight last season and netted one goal, as well as picked up two assists.

Now, Sano could become the first Japanese player to sign for Newcastle since striker Yoshinori Muto.

Bo Henriksen: Kaishu Sano can become one of the best players in his position

Henriksen formerly coached Mainz between 2024 and 2025 and was the manager who brought the midfielder to the German club.

Here, he helped oversee his rise to become one of the Bundesliga outfit’s most important players.

Therefore, it will be no surprise to many Mainz fans that Britball are reporting that Newcastle are considering a bid for Sano this summer.

Looking back on what Henriksen said about Sano, on 7 December 2024, he was full of praise for the Japan international and believed that his potential is massive.

In a five-and-a-half-minute speech to GOAL, one section said: "He's been getting better and better in attack in the last few matches. He's started passing the ball forward. If you look at his stats from five matches ago, he wasn't passing the ball forward at all. He was always passing it backward. In the last match against Hoffenheim, he even had a header and recorded xG (expected goals)."

"Everyone on the team says he's the player they least want to face in training. That's because he's incredibly fast, and on top of that, he's a great footballer, has good technique, and can head the ball. He has all the abilities to become not just a good Bundesliga player, but a truly excellent international-level player."

"He has great potential. I think Jonny (Jonathan Burkhardt) said that he's one of the players with the most potential on the team, and that's absolutely true. He's just getting better and better. 

“Having players like him here and guiding them to the next step is the most important thing. The same goes for Paul (Nebel). I know Nadiem, Philip (Mwene), and Jonny are all excellent players. But developing players like them and guiding them to the next step is the most important thing in football.

"I feel that especially when I see a guy like Sano. He's not taking baby steps now, he's taking giant steps. We've actually taken such big steps that we think he could become one of the best players in his position."

How good is Sano?

According to Fotmob on 4 July, Sano had some excellent stats in the Bundesliga in the 2025-26 season for Mainz.

Overall, the midfielder was averaging 0.82 successful dribbles, 5.38 duels won, 2.18 aerial duels won, 1.94 interceptions, 0.41 blocked shots and 5.97 recoveries per 90 minutes.

If this can be replicated at Newcastle, it would go a long way to replacing Tonali for the 2026-27 campaign, who will obviously be a massive loss at St James’ Park over the upcoming months.

However, it remains to be seen if the Magpies will submit a bid for the Japan international as they look to bounce back from their disappointing 2025-26 season.