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New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
What Spurs can expect from Kota Takai: ‘Emerging talent' who proved himself against Ronaldo
Most Premier League fans won't have heard of Kota Takai until this transfer window. But the 20-year-old, who is set to join Tottenham Hotspur from Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale for a J1 League record £5million ($6.8m, 1billion Japanese yen), has quickly developed into a star in his home country. Having missed the opening weeks of the 2023 season representing Japan at the Under-20 Asian Cup, upon his return Takai broke into Kawasaki's first team aged just 18 and immediately established himself as a starter in central defence. He made 13 starts for Kawasaki in 2023, before being dropped to the bench towards the end of the season. Advertisement Although Kawasaki have been one of Japan's most successful teams over the past decade, winning the J1 League four times between 2017 and 2021, the 2023 team was not vintage. They finished eighth in the then 18-team league, but Takai's talent often shone through, earning him a place in Japan's Under-20 World Cup squad that summer. Since then, his career has taken off. He was part of the Japan team that won the Under-23 Asian Cup in 2024, playing every minute, apart from the second group game where he was rested. He then got his first cap for the senior national team in a 7-0 win over China later that year. Though 2024 was another middling season for Kawasaki, finishing eighth for the second season running, Takai earned a call-up for the Paris Olympics to represent Japan, who were beaten 3-0 by Spain in the quarter-finals. For his performances across 2024, he won the J1 League's Best Young Player award. Now he's a household name in Japanese football, with four caps for the national team. He also played for Kawasaki in the Asian Champions League final. They lost 2-0 in the showpiece game against Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, but beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr en route to the final (pictured top). 'I would put him at the top of the young, emerging talents in Japan,' says Dan Orlowitz, a Japanese football journalist. 'There was no question that he was going to Europe. He is definitely on track to become a star, relatively speaking, for the national team.' Takai, who has been taking English lessons and models himself after Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk, was reportedly attracting interest from around Europe before he agreed terms with Tottenham. While the jump from J1 League (ranked 14th in the world by Opta Analyst) to Premier League (first) is significant, he has the attributes of a modern centre-back. Advertisement First, he's comfortable in possession, a prerequisite for any emerging centre-back playing for a Premier League and Champions League side. 'In terms of building up and contributing to the attack, he's a reliable short passer,' says Orlowitz. 'He's not really going to contribute when you're in the final third, but he'll be able to move the ball forward.' Kawasaki build from the back, and Takai or centre-back partner Yuichi Maruyama frequently finish games with the highest number of touches. Takai also has the ability to play line-breaking passes when given time and space. Still, it's an area of his game not entirely refined yet. In Kawasaki's defeat by Vissel Kobe this month, Takai attempted 69 passes, completing just 56 (81 per cent). In their 1-0 win against Yokohama FC the week earlier, it declined to 20 from 27 (74 per cent). In their 2-1 away win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima on May 31, he completed 45 of his 49 passes (92 per cent). Fluctuation in this area is understandable given his age, but his tendency to rush passes when under intense pressure was displayed against higher-quality opposition in the latter stages of the AFC Champions League. Here, Al Ahli's Ezgjan Alioski is chasing down Takai, who is receiving a pass from midfield. Alioski quickly closes the distance, prompting Takai to take the ball wide, isolating him against his opponent. Under pressure, Takai attempts a tricky pass over Al Ahli winger Galeno and into the path of team-mate Asahi Sasaki, but mishits the pass and puts it out of play. However, in the semi-final, he showed he can be composed and skilful in these situations. In this grab, Al Nassr attacker Jhon Duran tries to sneak up on Takai on his blind side to win the ball. Takai casually feints backwards — deceiving Duran, who then changes the direction of his run — before bringing the ball forwards and away from the Colombia international's pressure. He follows it up with a stylish chipped pass through the Al Nassr midfield block, setting his team away on an attack. Advertisement Takai has a high ceiling as a distributor, provided he improves under pressure and continues developing his touch and feel for medium to long-distance passes. An area that we may not be able to assess properly before he plays in England is his ability to adapt from a physical perspective, but there are encouraging indicators that he has the qualities to adjust. 'One of the biggest challenges for him is adjusting to the physicality and speed of the Premier League,' says Orlowitz. 'On any given Saturday, he can deliver a monster performance, but in the Premier League, he has to be able to do that week in and week out. It's going to be an adjustment, but he's got the physique.' Takai stands at 6ft 3in (190cm), and he's not afraid to put his body in the way to dispossess opponents. In this grab, he wins the ball after a shoulder-to-shoulder battle with Duran, whose physicality caused problems for Premier League defenders while at Aston Villa, before bringing the ball out of defence into midfield. He's also improving as an aerial presence and has found the net twice with headers from set pieces this season. However, his primary strength as a defender is his anticipation and timing, particularly in recovery situations. He does not have the electric pace of Micky van de Ven, but he can close distances quickly for a player of his size and win the ball cleanly with impressive slide tackles. Here is one example of this in action. Here's another instance: He can also read the game and step ahead of attackers, using his strength and power to win the ball, as shown in this grab: Again, after dispossessing his opponent, he shows the vision and composure to move the ball on quickly to a team-mate, relieving opposition pressure. Here, he calmly wins possession from Ronaldo, who had tried to break past Takai with a stepover move. Having kept Ronaldo and Sadio Mane relatively quiet in the Asian Champions League semi-final, Tottenham have a barometer of Takai's quality. It should provide some confidence that he can find his way in the Premier League, where his physical and technical attributes will be tested. Emerging ahead of Cristian Romero and Van de Ven will not be easy, not to mention the group of international centre-backs waiting behind them in Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies and Luka Vuskovic, who made his Croatia debut earlier this month and can now play in England after turning 18 in February. Still, Takai is a special talent, and Thomas Frank may be the perfect coach to maximise his abilities.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Who is Spurs target Takai?
Japanese defender Kota Takai is set to join Tottenham from Kawasaki Frontale for £5m – a record fee for a J-League player moving abroad - but who is he?Takai has a wealth of experience for his age, playing the first of his 77 senior games in the Asian equivalent of the Champions League at just featured at the 2024 Olympic Games for Japan and has since won four senior caps, with his debut coming in a 7-0 victory over China just a day after his 20th birthday in September is athletic, 6ft 3 inches tall, comfortable on the ball and has an eye for a pass. Takai has completed almost 2,000 passes in the J-League since the start of last season with an 88% success rate, which ranks him 15th among all April, he showcased many of his qualities when he marked Cristiano Ronaldo as Frontale defeated Al-Nassr 3-2 in the AFC Champions League Elite fans of a certain vintage will remember the club's only previous Japanese player, Kazuyuki Toda. He joined on loan from Shimizu S-Pulse in January 2003 and made just four appearances under then manager Glenn fair to say that much bigger things are expected of to get news notifications on your club
Japan Forward
4 days ago
- Sport
- Japan Forward
Frontale Defender Kota Takai to Join Tottenham
Kota Takai, who is 20, is set to test his skills under the watchful eye of new Tottenham boss Thomas Frank in hopes of earning a spot on the first-team squad. Kawasaki Frontale's Kota Takai (2) and Vissel Kobe's Yuya Osako vie for the ball during a match on April 16, 2025, at Noevir Stadium Kobe. (©SANKEI) Up-and-coming defender Kota Takai is on the verge of joining the English Premier League's Tottenham Hotspur. According to published reports that surfaced on Monday, June 23, Tottenham and the Kawasaki Frontale have finalized an agreement for a £5 million GBP (nearly ¥1 billion JPY, or $6.8 million USD) transfer fee for Takai. It would be the highest fee paid for a Japanese player to move to an overseas professional club. A native of Yokohama, the 192-cm (6-foot-4) Takai made his debut for Frontale in 2023. The 20-year-old center-back earned the Best Young Player award for the 2024 season. In the 2025 season, Takai has been a fixture in the Frontale lineup. He's scored two goals, both on headers, in 19 matches against league foes. His Frontale contract runs through January 2026. Japan defender Kota Takai (right) in action against Saudi Arabia in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifier on March 25 at Saitama Stadium. (©SANKEI) Takai, who turns 21 on September 4, competed for the Japan Under-23 squad at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He was Japan's youngest player on the Olympic squad, and its first teenage footballer to play in the Olympics since Shinji Kagawa and Maya Yoshida competed at the 2008 Beijing Games. Prior to that, he was a key player for the squad at the 2024 U23 Asian Cup. Takai has already earned four caps for the Samurai Blue, aka the Japan men's senior national soccer squad. He made his Samurai Blue debut in a 7-0 drubbing of China on September 5, 2024 at Saitama Stadium, coming off the bench in the 71st minute. Most recently, he was in the starting lineup for Japan's final 2026 World Cup Asian qualifier against Indonesia on June 10 in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The Samurai Blue, who had qualified for the World Cup in March, won 6-0. Getting a chance to start for the national team, even in a match that was meaningless on paper, was a big deal to Takai. "I'm glad we managed to keep a clean sheet as a team," Takai told reporters after Japan's convincing victory. "I played a few successful vertical passes and I'm happy with my attacking play, too." He added, "Compared to the previous match [against Australia on June 5], there was more space between defense and attack, allowing me to get behind the lines more easily. However, I want to be able to play like that against stronger opponents. With only a year left until the World Cup, I intend to keep improving so that I can make the final squad." Kawasaki Frontale's Kota Takai scores a match-tying goal against Yokohama F Marinos on April 9 at Todoroki Stadium. (©SANKEI) Tottenham, led by first-year manager Thomas Frank, opens its 2025 Premier League campaign on August 16 against Burnley. The North London club also earned a spot in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 triumph over Manchester United in the second-tier Europa League final on May 27. In his squad's buildup for the start of the new season, Frank will test Kota Takai and other newcomers along with the team's returning players to determine his general plan for who'll comprise the starting lineup. This will also factor into who should be expected to serve as key substitutes as the season gets underway. Ao Tanaka (Leeds United), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton) and Reo Hatate (Celtic FC) are among the former Frontale players now plying their craft in Europe. Author: Ed Odeven Find Ed on JAPAN Forward' s dedicated website, SportsLook . Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven .
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Who is Kota Takai? Tottenham signing ready to step up in bid for immediate first-team role
New arrival: Kota Takai is set to join Tottenham in a £5m deal this summer (Getty Images) Kota Takai may be a relative unknown to Tottenham fans, but the 20-year-old, set to join in a £5million deal from Kawasaki Frontale, has always known this day would come - the day he became the record J-League sale for a Japanese player. Confident without being arrogant, centre-back Takai has been targeting a move to Europe for many years. Advertisement On Kawasaki Frontale's website in 2023, he stated that his main ambition was to speak English fluently. His footballing idol? Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk. He'll have his sights set on getting the better of the Dutch defender when the two teams meet next season, such is his belief that he can challenge for a regular role at Tottenham. Takai will be the second signing of Thomas Frank's reign as Spurs boss after Mathys Tel joined permanently from Bayern Munich. And like Tel, the Japanese international is expected to compete for first-team minutes next season. Japanese football expert Dan Orlowitz, previously of the Japan Times, says it was inevitable that a player of Takai's ability would make the jump to a leading European league, though he admits he was surprised that Tottenham came in for him so soon. Advertisement "I think Tottenham is, let's be honest, a bit of a surprise in terms of the jump, but not a single person who's seen him play over the last couple of years is surprised that he is going to Europe. This was inevitable," Orlowitz tells Standard Sport. A bold and pacey centre-back, Takai is aware of his own ability, and he's not afraid to flaunt it. That will be tested at Tottenham, where he'll be competing for minutes with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin. But his innate assuredness is a strong starting point. "It's easier for players to go to England because of Japan's global success. Japan's global success has come because it has such fantastic grassroots development in terms of churning out player after player who are capable of coming to Europe," Orlowitz explains. Takai is sure to have a strong Japanese following at Tottenham - @SpursJapan have 149,000 followers on X - cheering his every move. Advertisement Whether it is Karate, piano, swimming or juggling - he told Kawasaki Frontale's 2024 survey that as a kid, he juggled a ball a thousand times without dropping it - there is nothing Takai hasn't tried his hand at in the pursuit of a career in professional sport. Takai, capped four times by Japan, eventually landed on football, and his bright future for club and country would suggest he was right to take that step. "I don't think there's a sharp adjustment as far as getting physically ready for Europe,' Orlowitz explains. "I feel like Japan is improving in terms of getting players physically ready to be able to compete in these leagues because they understand that is where a lot of these players are going." Takai will become one of five Japanese players currently playing at a Premier League side and the 16th overall.
Tokyo Weekender
4 days ago
- Sport
- Tokyo Weekender
Introducing Kota Takai: Japanese International Set To Join Spurs
Tottenham Hotspurs have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Kawasaki Frontale defender Kota Takai, 20, for around ¥1 billion ($6.8 million). Once completed, it will be the largest ever fee for a Japanese player from the J-League. Identified by technical director Johan Lange, Takai is expected to be part of the North London club's first-team squad rather than being loaned out. Thomas Frank, who recently took over from Ange Postecoglou as head coach, will examine the defender closely when pre-season training starts in just over a fortnight to see how he fits into his plans. So, what kind of player are Spurs getting? Here's a closer look at Takai and his short career so far. List of Contents: What Kind of Player Is Kota Takai? Takai's Breakthrough at Frontale Former Frontale Players Thriving in Europe Related Posts What Kind of Player Is Kota Takai? Takai is an accomplished defender who is comfortable playing as both a right-sided and left-sided center-half in a back four, though has also filled in at right-back for Frontale. He reads the game well, is confident in possession and approaches 1v1 situations with controlled aggression, rarely going to ground. At 192 centimeters, he's a threat from corners, scoring two headers in the first half of the 2025 J-League season. In some games, Takai has struggled against forwards with a physical presence, and he may take time to get used to the pace of the game in the Premier League. Yet while he is likely to start as a backup to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, in the long run, he could prove to be a smart acquisition by Tottenham. Takai's Breakthrough at Frontale The 20-year-old Kanagawa Prefecture native made his debut for Frontale in the AFC Champions League at the age of 17 as his club hammered Chinese side Guangzhou 8-0 in April 2022. He soon became a first-team regular, and in 2024 was named the J-League's Best Young Player. That same year, he played a starring role as Japan triumphed at the men's football U-23 Asian Cup. Takai impressed again at the Paris Olympics, where Japan — who decided not to include any overage players — were knocked out by eventual winners Spain at the quarterfinal stage in August. The following month, Takai won his first cap for the full national team as a substitute in a World Cup qualifier against China. He has played four times for his country, with his most recent appearance coming in the 6-0 thumping of Indonesia. Prior to that game, Takai played a key role as Frontale reached the final of the AFC Champions League. One of the standout performances of his career so far came in the semifinal against an Al-Nassr side featuring the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané and Jhon Durán. They eventually lost 2-0 to Al-Ahli Saudi FC in the final. Former Frontale Players Thriving in Europe In recent years, several players who started their professional careers at Kawasaki Frontale have prospered in Europe. This includes Kaoru Mitoma at Brighton and his former schoolmate Ao Tanaka, who was instrumental in Leeds United's promotion to the top-flight. There's also Hidemasa Morita, who has won two Primeira Liga titles with Sporting CP, four-time Scottish Premiership winner Reo Hatate of Celtic, and Borussia Mönchengladbach's Ko Itakura, who is reportedly attracting interest from several Champions League clubs. Ange Postecoglou manager of Tottenham Hotspur Frank will be hoping Takai makes a similar impression at Tottenham, who will this season be playing in the UEFA Champions League. They qualified for the competition after defeating Man Utd 1-0 in the final of the Europa League. It was the club's first major trophy in 17 years. The victory, though, wasn't enough to keep Postecoglou in his job. The Australian, who previously managed Yokohama F. Marinos, was fired due to the side's poor league form. They finished 17th after losing 22 league games — the most defeats by a Premier League team in a season without getting relegated. Speaking about the decision to part ways with Postecoglou, Chairman Daniel Levy said , 'Emotionally it was difficult, but we feel that we've made the right decision for the club.' Related Posts Kyogo Furuhashi Interview: Life at Celtic Japan's Best Ever Footballers The Start of the J-League | On This Day in Japan
