Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of defender Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale on a five-year contract running to 2030.
He is the first signing under new head coach Thomas Frank who was not on loan at the club last season under previous boss Ange Postecoglou.
As reported by The Athletic, an agreement for the 20-year-old Japan international was reached for £5million ($6.8m, 1billion Japanese yen), which represents a record fee for a player in the J League — the top division of Japanese football — moving overseas.
Takai, who was into the final six months of his contract at Kawasaki Frontale, has played 28 times at club level in 2025 and has also made four appearances for Japan.
He played a key role in Kawasaki Frontale winning the Japanese Super Cup in 2024 and was also named the nation’s best young player that year.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven established themselves as the first choice central defensive pairing at Spurs under Postecoglou, while Radu Dragusin and Kevin Danso are the other recognised centre-backs in the squad.
However, multiple injury setbacks in 2024- 25 meant Archie Gray, a midfielder by trade, was deployed in the centre of defence.
Danso and Mathys Tel, who both arrived on loan deals from Lens and Bayern Munich respectively in January, have each made their moves to Spurs permanent this summer, while teenage defender Luka Vuskovic will join Spurs from Hajduk Split after a deal was agreed in 2023.
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