Kōta Takai
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kōta Takai[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 September 2004[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Borussia Mönchengladbach (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | River FC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2022 | Kawasaki Frontale | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2025 | Kawasaki Frontale | 60 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026– | → Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Japan U15 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Japan U20 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Japan U23 | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Japan | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14 February 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 28 June 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
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Kōta Takai (高井 幸大, Takai Kōta; born 4 September 2004) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, on loan from Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and the Japan national team.
Club career
Kawasaki Frontale
Takai was promoted to the Kawasaki Frontale first team ahead of the 2022 season.[2] He made his debut in a 8–0 victory against Guangzhou.[3] At the end of the 2024 J1 League season, Takai was named the J.League's Best Young Player of 2024.[4] He would help Frontale win the 2023 Emperor's Cup and 2024 Japanese Super Cup as well as making it to the 2025 AFC Champions League Elite final for the first time in club history.[5]
Tottenham Hotspur
On 8 July 2025, Takai agreed to join Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent transfer until 2030.[6] Takai's start to life at Tottenham was delayed after being diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, causing him to miss pre-season and the first matches of the season, returning to training in early September.[7][8] Takai would play his first minutes for Tottenham with the U21s in a Behind closed doors friendly against Dagenham & Redbridge on 2 December, later making his first matchday squad in a 1-0 away win against Crystal Palace on 28 December.[9][10]
Loan to Borussia Mönchengladbach
On 2 January 2026, Takai joined Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach on loan for the remainder of the 2025–26 season.[11] He made his debut on 11 January 2026 in the 72nd minute as a substitute for Philipp Sander in a 4-0 home win over FC Augsburg.[12]
International career
On 4 April 2024, Takai was called up to the Japan U23 squad for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[13] The same year on 5 September, Takai debuted for Japan national team in a 2026 World Cup qualification against China at the Saitama Stadium 2002, replacing Ko Itakura in the 71st minute of Japan's 7–0 victory.[14]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 14 February 2026[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kawasaki Frontale | 2022 | J1 League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2024 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2025 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | |||
| Total | 60 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 4 | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2025–26 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) | 2025-26 | Bundesliga | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 65 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 86 | 4 | ||
- ^ Includes Emperor's Cup
- ^ Includes J.League Cup
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League Elite
- ^ Appearance in Japanese Super Cup
International
- As of match played 10 June 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Honours
Kawasaki Frontale
Japan U23
Individual
References
- ^ a b c "FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023 Squad List: Japan (JPN)" (PDF). FIFA. 22 May 2023. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Takenaka, Reona (15 February 2022). 高校2年生でトップ昇格。高井幸大はフロンターレの未来を担う [Promoted to the top in the second year of high school. Kodai Takai will bear the future of Frontale.]. note.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "川崎F 17歳の大型CB高井幸大が大勝の広州戦でプロデビュー" [Kawasaki Frontale's 17-year-old CB Kodai Takai makes his professional debut against Guangzhou in a big win]. Yahoo News (in Japanese). Yahoo. 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "AWARDS WINNERS 受賞者一覧" [AWARDS WINNERS List Of Winners] (in jp). 10 December 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Behind Kōta Takai's rapid three-year rise to the Premier League with Tottenham". ESPN. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
- ^ "Kota Takai deal agreed". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ^ Gold, Alasdair (29 July 2025). "Every word Thomas Frank said on transfers, Takai problem, Mikey Moore, Son future and Gibbs-White". football.london. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
- ^ Gold, Alasdair (2 September 2025). "When Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Takai and Dragusin will be back from injury for Tottenham". football.london. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
- ^ "Defenders continue comebacks in Dagenham friendly". Tottenham Hotspur. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ "Premier League LIVE: Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. 28 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ "Mönchengladbach loan for Takai". Tottenham Hotspur. 2 January 2026. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
- ^ "Vuskovic scores once more, Takai makes European debut". Tottenham Hotspur. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
- ^ U-23日本代表 メンバー・スケジュール（4.6-5.4 カタール／ドーハ）AFC U23アジアカップ カタール2024 [U-23 Japan National Team Squad List (4.6-5.4 Qatar/Doha) AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024] (in Japanese). Japan Football Association. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ "Football: Japan thump China 7–0 to open final-round World Cup qualifiers". Kyodo News. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ^ Kōta Takai at Soccerway
- ^ 神戸vs川崎Fの試合結果・データ (Fujifilm Super Cup: 2024年2月17日). J.League (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ 【天皇杯・決勝速報】PK戦まで続く激闘の末、川崎フロンターレに軍配。柏レイソルは猛攻実らず惜敗. Football Channel (in Japanese). 9 December 2023. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ ベストヤングプレーヤー賞はDF高井幸大に決定! 川崎F期待の20歳はリーグ戦24試合出場＆日本代表デビューも. Soccer King (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 December 2024.
External links
- Kota Takai at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
- Kota Takai at Soccerway
- Kota Takai at Olympics.com
- Kota Takai at Olympedia
- Kota Takai at Team Japan (in Japanese) (in English)
- Kota Takai – Paris 2024 at Team Japan (in Japanese) (in English)
- Kota Takai on Instagram