Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League • England
Tottenham break record with Thomas Frank’s first new signing agreed
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank
Tottenham have fully agreed a deal to sign a defender that will smash a transfer record, and Spurs’ plan for the player has quickly emerged.
Tottenham have already completed two signings this summer, though both were pre-agreed long before Thomas Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou in the dugout.
The options to buy Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel outright via their loan arrangements were taken up. News has now broken of Spurs agreeing to sign a player for the first time since Frank took charge.
Japanese centre-half, Kota Takai, is the player in question. Multiple sources including The Times, BBC and Fabrizio Romano have all confirmed a deal to sign the 20-year-old is in place.
Spurs will pay £5m to Takai’s side Kawasaki Frontale which represents a record sale for the J League.
Nevertheless, Tottenham believe they’ve snagged a bargain and the versatile right-footer is equally comfortable playing at left centre-back as he is at right centre-back.
Takai will continue to play for Kawasaki Frontale over the coming weeks before linking up with his new Spurs teammates for pre-season later in the summer.
Spurs have agreed to let Takai continue playing in Japan for the time being in order to not stifle his development.
That decision would appear to make perfect sense given the vast bulk of Spurs’ squad don’t report back for pre-season from their summer holidays until early-mid July.
Takai has already racked up four senior caps for Japan and was named the J League’s best young player for the 2024 campaign.
Takai’s arrival is the latest example of Spurs investing in younger stars who despite their tender ages, can make an impact in the first-team right now.
Archie Gray, 19, Wilson Odobert, 20, Lucas Bergvall, 19, Antonin Kinsky, 22, Yang Min-hyeok, 19, and Mathys Tel, 20, have all been signed within the last two years.
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