Borussia have signed Japan international Ko Itakura from English champions Manchester City. The 25-year-old defender has signed a contract with the Foals until 30th June 2026.
“Ko is an incredibly strong runner and a tactically-disciplined player who can play in an array of different positions across the defence, including in defensive midfield,” said Borussia sporting director Roland Virkus. “He certainly had several attractive offers on the table, which makes us even more pleased that he’s chosen to sign with us, because he’s an important part of our plans.”
Ko Itakura came through as a youth player in his home country, Japan. It was there that the defender made his first steps into professional football, before he transferred to Manchester City in 2019, where he was loaned out directly to FC Groningen. He played there for two and a half years, making 59 appearances for the Dutch top-flight side, scoring one goal. He spent last season on loan at FC Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga 2 and made 31 league appearances as Schalke won promotion back to the first division. He scored four goals and also made one appearance in the DFB-Pokal (zero goals). Itakura never made a competitive appearance for Manchester City.
The defender has made 12 appearances for the Japan national team so far and has found the net on one occasion. He’s also made five appearances at the Olympics for his country (zero goals), featured five times for Japan U23s (one goal), and made 25 appearances for further Japan youth national teams (U21-U16, two goals).
Ko Itakura will travel to join the team at their training camp at Tegernsee tomorrow (Sunday) and will be officially presented via a press conference on Monday.
