The New York cosmos announced on Tuesday that the team has agreed to a loan with Shimizu S-Pulse of Japan’s J. League for 20-year-old forward Satoru Kashiwase. With this deal in place Kashiwase becomes the youngest native Japanese player to ever sign with a North American soccer club.

Cosmos Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“This is definitely a special opportunity for our soccer club, to bring a young talent like Satoru to the U.S.,” head coach Giovanni Savarese said. “He is a very technically gifted goal-scorer and we’re excited to be a part of his developmental process.”

Kashiwase is a 6-foot-0 forward from Chiba, Japan who is set to make his debut on American soil on August 3, as the Cosmos as they open up their season at Hofstra University. Last season, in his first year as a professional Kashiwase played for Shimizu S-Pulse, which is one of the top teams in the J. League.

“I am very happy and proud to become part of the New York Cosmos,” Kashiwase said. “I am going to work hard to be recognized and aim to become an established player here in New York.  I truly hope that I can develop not only as a player, but also as a person here with the Cosmos.  I also want to thank the Shimizu S-Pulse organization, the fans, and everybody who supported me. Everything has been great and I’ve enjoyed training here every day. I am going to do my best so that I can show you all that I’ve developed my game.”

The Cosmos have also agreed to terms with 23-year-old Brazilian midfielder Paulo Mendes. A 6-foot-0 native of Goiania, Brazil, Mendes played for the Atlanta Silverbacks during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.