Will the center back of the Japanese national team at the 18th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup advance to the Premier League (EPL).
German broadcaster “Sky” reported on January 18 (Korea Standard Time), “English professional football powerhouse Liverpool and Tottenham show interest in Itakura Go (27, Mönchengladbach). The buyout effective for the transfer market in the summer of 2024 is 10 million to 15 million euros (about 14.6 billion to 21.9 billion won).”
EPL ranks first in the UEFA league, while Germany’s Bundesliga ranks fourth. Liverpool ranks fifth in the European club rankings, Tottenham ranks 30th and Mönchengladbach 80th.
“Sky” said, “Itakura’s position as the core of Mönchengladbach with the entry of the Bundesliga in the 2022-23 season is highly regarded in Europe, including Germany.”
Under the current contract, which will remain in effect through June 2026, Itakura’s annual salary is 1.89 million euros (2.8 billion won). “If Mönchengladbach fails to agree on new terms with the player, the team that offered 15 million euros will be given the right to negotiate first,” Sky said.
The Bundesliga’s summer transfer window is from July 1 to September 1 local time. “Jurgen Klop (57, Germany) is paying attention to Itakura Go’s play,” Sky said. “I wanted to recruit Angelos Postecoglou (59, Australia/Greece) when I was playing for Celtic as well.”
Angelos Postecoglou became Tottenham manager based on his experience as coach of Celtic, the strongest team in Scotland, which was ranked 9th to 11th in the European League in 2021-2023. At that time, Celtic was ranked 46th to 57th in the European club rankings.
Sky said, “Coach Angelos Postecoglou’s interest is ongoing. Not only Tottenham but also Liverpool may bring Itakura Go after the 2023-24 season.”
“Mönchengladbach also eagerly wants to renew his contract with Itakura Go, which focuses on extending the period and increasing or abolishing the buyout,” he explained.
Ko Itakura played for the Japanese national team ▲ Silver medal at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018 ▲ 9th place in the 2019 CONMEBOL Copa America ▲ 4th place at the 32nd Tokyo Olympics in 2021 ▲ 9th place at the 22nd FIFA Qatar World Cup in 2022. 마카오토토주소
Its advantage is that it plays as a defensive midfielder in the Copa America, where Japan participated as an invited country, and has techniques above the center back average. The accuracy of attack development in all positions in the German Bundesliga last season is also one of the top three.