At the start of training last Sunday, Gladbach coach Daniel Farke (45) explained: “It can take a while for good players – because they also have a few other options.”
The wait is finally over: Ko Itakura (25) Gladbacher!
After the medical check-up on Friday, the Japanese international signed a contract with Borussia until 2026 on Saturday. Sunday Itakura travels to the training camp at Tegernsee.
Sports director Roland Virkus (55): “Ko is an extremely strong and tactically disciplined player who can play in different positions on the defensive, including the six. He certainly had several attractive options for a move. We are all the more pleased that he is convinced of our path, because he is an important building block in our planning.”
As a central man in defensive midfield, Itakura should arrange the Gladbach game in the new season. According to BILD information, the transfer fee is 5 million euros.
Good teamwork from sports director Virkus and also coach Farke, who has a good connection to ManCity coach Pep Guardiola: Schalke should still pay five million pounds as a fixed fee for Itakura – that’s around 5.8 million euros…
The City loanee played 31 league games for Schalke last season (four goals) and, thanks to the sometimes outstanding performances, became one of the best central defenders in the 2nd division.
The defensive player has played twelve games for the Japanese national team in which he has scored a goal. Previously, he had played five times for the Olympic team (no goal), five times for the U23 team (1 goal) and 25 times for the various junior national teams (U21-U16, 2 goals) of his home country.
Gladbach thus closes the largest construction site in the squad. Virkus had placed the commitment of a “clear six” at the top of the agenda for this transfer summer.
Exactly this type of player has been missing so far – with Itakura Farke has now got the “desired six”!
