Yu Kobayashi is a Japanese forward born in Tokyo in 1987. After university football at Takushoku University, he joined Kawasaki Frontale and became one of the club's defining attackers. Kobayashi was central to Kawasaki's rise into a title-winning side, winning J1 League honours and the J.League Player of the Year award in 2017, when he was also the league's top scorer. He has represented Japan at senior level and is known for sharp movement in the box and sustained scoring production in domestic football.