Coach Ask Van Dijk to Jump Over, Ask His Disciple Ahead of joining Tottenham...Tottenham is a strong team with a long history

Jun 27, 2025

Coach Ask Van Dijk to Jump Over, Ask His Disciple Ahead of joining Tottenham...Tottenham is a strong team with a long history
Japanese Kawasaki defender Takai Gota, who marks Cristiano Ronaldo (left) closely in the Asian Champions League match against Al Nasr on the 1st of last month. REUTERS Yonhap News



Coach Ask Van Dijk to Jump Over, Ask His Disciple Ahead of joining Tottenham...Tottenham is a strong team with a long history
Takai (left) who played in the A match against Indonesia on the 10th. AP Yonhap News
Japanese national soccer team coach Hajime Moriyasu cheered for Kota Takai (21, Kawasaki Frontale), who is about to join Tottenham.

Yokohama F on the 25th.Moriyasu, who watched the 15th round of the 2025 J1 League between Marinos and FC Tokyo, told Kawasaki defender Takai after the game, `I hope you will become a player beyond Van Dijk.'

In an interview with local media, Moriyasu said it is not easy to advance from the J-League to the Premier League. "The EPL is said to be the hardest league to advance into, and it's a great pleasure for J-League players and Japanese players to be recognized as people who play together and watch together."




European football transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano recently reported Tottenham's recruitment of Dakai. Romano says Tottenham will recruit center back Takai, who was born in 2004. The transfer fee is 5 million pounds (about 9 billion won). This is the highest transfer fee for any Japanese player in the history of the J-League, he said. Leading media, including the BBC, a British public broadcaster, also reported Takai's trip to Tottenham.

The previous highest transfer fee in the J-League was 5.4 million euros (current exchange rate of about 8.5 billion won) recorded when Kyogo Furuhashi (Stadren) moved from Kawasaki to Celtic in 2021.

"I've watched (the national team) for a short period of time, but I'm impressed by Takai's challenge to difficulties," Moriyasu said. Not only does he have excellent physical ability and high-quality skills, but he also has a strong will to play better than he is now. Even under pressure, he boldly jumps in and does what he needs. I think that such mental strength is driving his growth."




Coach Ask Van Dijk to Jump Over, Ask His Disciple Ahead of joining Tottenham...Tottenham is a strong team with a long history
APYonhap News
Coach Ask Van Dijk to Jump Over, Ask His Disciple Ahead of joining Tottenham...Tottenham is a strong team with a long history
When asked what kind of player Takai wants to become in the future, he said, "I hope he will be a van Dijk of Japan." Virgil van Dijk is the captain of the Dutch national team and Liverpool and is considered the best centre-back in the world. Led Liverpool to win the EPL last season.

"Tottenham is a strong team with a long history in the Premier League," Moriyasu said. Last season, he won the European stage (the Europa League)"I hope Takai will contribute to the team's victory and aim to win the Premier League and Champions League." And I hope you gain experience on that stage and go beyond Van Dijk."

Takai, who boasts a solid build of 1m92 and 90kg, is a 'next generation centerback' who has been active in Japan's A national team since last year through various age groups in Japan. He participated in the 2023 U-20 World Cup, 2024 Paris Olympics, and 2026 North Korea-China World Cup qualifiers.




A former Kawasaki Youth player, he was called up as a professional team in 2022 and scored two goals in 24 games as a starting player in the 2024 season, and won the J-League Best Young Player Award that year.

In particular, he backed his team's 3-2 surprise victory in May with a defense that kept his opponent's key striker Ronaldo scoreless in the semifinals of the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) against Al Nasr.

Coach Ask Van Dijk to Jump Over, Ask His Disciple Ahead of joining Tottenham...Tottenham is a strong team with a long history
With Jeong Seong-ryong (center). Source =Takai Kota SNS Capture
Takai, who has already played four A matches, seems to be planning a new challenge a year before the finals of the North-China World Cup. Tottenham, Italy's Udinese, Germany's Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hoffenheim have attracted attention from leading European clubs.

Japanese newspaper 'Sponichi'There is a possibility that Dakai could immediately go on loan to another team, but if he makes his EPL debut at the age of 20 immediately, this will be a great achievement.'Tottenham has South Korean striker Son Heung-min, so the performance of the Korean and Japanese national players is also expected.'

Currently, the Korea-Japan duo who are eating a bowl of rice in Europe include Kim Min-jae and Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich), Hwang In-beom and Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), and Yang Hyun-joon and Maeda Daizen (Celtic). In Kawasaki, Takaido, I worked with Korean gatekeeper Jung Sung-ryong.

Tottenham's defense team, led by new coach Thomas Frank, included Christian Romero, Mickey van der Penn, Radu Dragusin, Kevin Soushan and Ben Davies. Unless Romero, who is receiving attention from Atletico Madrid, leaves, fierce competition is inevitable for Takai. There is also a possibility that he will leave next season on loan to gain experience as Korean winger Yang Min-hyuk, who was born in 2006.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.