Shocking! Tottenham erased Korea and transformed into a pro-Japanese club...Recruitment of BBC's official prospects → Focus on the Japanese market

Jun 24, 2025

Shocking! Tottenham erased Korea and transformed into a pro-Japanese club...Recruitment of BBC's official prospects → Focus on the Japanese market
사진=SNS



Shocking! Tottenham erased Korea and transformed into a pro-Japanese club...Recruitment of BBC's official prospects → Focus on the Japanese market
Tottenham, which has two Korean players, is stepping up its efforts to recruit Japanese players. With neither Son Heung-min nor Yang Min-hyuk expected to remain on the team next season, there is a good chance that Japanese players will be the main players of the team.

The BBC reported on the 24th (Korea time) "Tottenham Hotspur has agreed to a contract worth 5 million pounds (about 9.2 billion won) to recruit Takai Kota, a Japanese national team member of J-League club Kawasaki Frontale."

The 20-year-old centre-back Kota is set to join Tottenham next month and is said to be part of Thomas Frank's first-team squad.




Takai has played in two A matches for the Japanese adult national team. He made his national debut in a World Cup qualifying match against China in September last year.

He played a key role in Kawasaki's victory in the Japanese Super Cup last year and was considered Japan's top prospect the same year.

Kota, who will join Tottenham, will compete with existing central defenders such as Christian Romero, Mickey Vanderben, Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin.




As he is a promising player in the future, there is a possibility that Tottenham will immediately spend his loan life, not his full strength. Tottenham's Korean player Yang Min-hyuk also joined the team and left for Queens Park Rangers in the English Football League Championship (second division) to live on loan. At the time, former Tottenham manager Enze Postecoglou pointed out that Yang Min-hyuk is still not enough to play at the level of the English Premier League (EPL).

Shocking! Tottenham erased Korea and transformed into a pro-Japanese club...Recruitment of BBC's official prospects → Focus on the Japanese market


Shocking! Tottenham erased Korea and transformed into a pro-Japanese club...Recruitment of BBC's official prospects → Focus on the Japanese market
사진=SNS
Shocking! Tottenham erased Korea and transformed into a pro-Japanese club...Recruitment of BBC's official prospects → Focus on the Japanese market
Tottenham is busy recruiting Japanese players. It does not end in Kota, but he is also interested in Japanese defender Itakura.

The British newspaper Give Me Sports reported on the 23rd that `Tottenham has received information that Borussia Mönchengladbach's Itakura Go could be transferred in the transfer market this summer.'




Ko played as a key player in 31 German Bundesliga games last season, but he is likely to transfer as his contract expires next summer.

Itakura's transfer fee is low. Mönchengladbach is expected to demand 12 million pounds (about 22 billion won) as a transfer fee for Itakura.

Itakura has Premier League experience. He gained attention when he made a surprise move to Manchester City in 2019. Unfortunately, he did not play in the Premier League and left on loan to the Dutch League and the German League.

If Go is recruited, Tottenham will have two Japanese players.

On the other hand, there is a possibility that Korean players will not remain on the team next season. This is because Son Heung-min continues to be embroiled in rumors of a sale, and Yang Min-hyuk is expected to spend another season on loan. In this regard, it is said that Tottenham, which saw the possibility of Asian marketing through Son Heung-min's performance, is even aiming for Japanese marketing.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.