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Tottenham Hotspur have signed Japanese defensive sensation Kota Takai from J-League outfit Kawasaki Frontale for £5m ($6.7m) as per reports from Sponichi Soccer captured via Fabrizio Romano.
Despite not knowing much about the 20-year-old, Tottenham fans are excited about the young defender taking his first steps in European football.
Kawasaki Frontale has already announced the young defender's departure from the club. He will be leaving the club after finishing his activity on July 5 in order to complete the procedures required to move to an overseas club.
Spurs have snapped up the young Japanese defender at a time when their defensive stalwart Cristian Romero is linked with a move out of North London.
While Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone have publicly shown interest in Romero, Thomas Frank is still keen to hold onto one of the best players on his roster.
Romero was the Man of the Tournament last season at the Europa League, which Spurs won, defeating Man United in the final.
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Amid all the uncertainty, Frank welcomes a talented defender in Takai, who has a very high ceiling. He will join the team during the pre-season next month in Hong Kong and South Korea.
What Kota Takai bring to the Tottenham Hotspur side?
Hailing from Yokohama, Takai began his youth career at River FC before moving to Kawasaki Frontale in 2011. He broke into the first team in 2022, and since then, he hasn't looked back.
🇯🇵 Kota Takai is the only U23 centreback in the world to rank in the 80th percentile for passes completed, forward pass %, defensive actions, and aerial duel %
🎖️ 91st percentile for forward pass accuracy
🎖️ 87th percentile for aerial duels won %
🎖️ 84th percentile for passes… pic.twitter.com/GQpXXGhwd1
He was voted as the 2024 J-League Young Player of the Year and also won the 2024 U23 AFC Asian Cup with Japan.
Takai also won the 2024 Japanese Super Cup and the 2023 Emperor's Cup with Kawasaki Frontale.
Takai, 20, developed into a key player for Kawasaki as he guided them to the AFC Champions League Elite final last season, where they were beaten by Al-Ahli.
He played 19 out of the 20 J1 League games this season, scoring a couple of goals. He had won possession 84 times in 2025, which was the second-highest among Kawasaki players.
He has been winning 59% of his duels since the start of the 2024 J1 League, slightly more than the league average. His towering presence helped him register a 62.1% aerial duel success rate, again higher than the J1 League average.
As per Opta, Takai has clocked 88% passing accuracy and averaged 5.9 progressive carries per 90 minutes.
The statistics speak for his talent and capabilities on the pitch as Opta feels he has similar traits to current Real Madrid star Dean Huijsen.
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