Tottenham Hotspur look set to make their second signing of the summer transfer window.
Spurs signed Mathys Tel on a permanent deal earlier this month to kickstart their transfer business under Thomas Frank, and now, another new name could be coming in.
Indeed, 20-year-old Japanese defender, Kota Takai is set to sign for Tottenham in what sounds like a very exciting move.
Takai is apparently set for a first-team role at Tottenham, and at the age of just 20, he could grow into a star at Spurs.
This is an exciting move for Tottenham, that’s for sure. However, spare a thought for Ange Postecoglou after seeing this rumour.
Ange Postecoglou must be so confused by Kota Takai move
Tottenham are signing a young Japanese star just weeks after sacking Ange Postecoglou – there’s a real cruel irony in that.
Postecoglou has a remarkable track record of bringing in players from Japan and helping them improve – the likes of Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate are prime examples from his time at Celtic.
On top of that, Postecoglou did some incredible work in the J-League during his time at Yokohama.
Postecoglou tried to bring some Japanese stars to Spurs. Takefusa Kubo was linked to Tottenham last year, Ko Itakura was a Spurs target at one point, while Ange Postecoglou wanted Kyogo Furuhashi at Spurs.
Tottenham didn’t sign a single Japanese player under Postecoglou, despite the manager’s eye for players from this part of the world, but now, less than a month after sacking Postecoglou, Takai is set to join.
More than anything else, Postecoglou must be confused about Tottenham’s approach here. They’ve signed a perfect player for him just weeks after he was sacked.
Thomas Frank’s transfer preference has also been ignored
Ange Postecoglou has always had a preference for signing Japanese players, as he showed at Celtic.
Meanwhile, Thomas Frank has his own transfer preference, signing players from his native Denmark.
Indeed, Frank’s Brentford squad was littered with Danish players, but after arriving at Tottenham, Spurs’ first port of call was to sell their only Danish player.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has officially joined Marseille on a permanent deal after a successful loan spell last year.
Of course, that was as a part of an obligation to buy in the loan deal, but there is some irony in the fact that Tottenham hired Frank and immediately sold their only Danish player and are now set to sign their first-ever Japanese player just weeks after sacking Ange Postecoglou.