Borussia Mönchengladbach have completed the signing of Japanese international Ko Itakura from Manchester City.
The 25-year-old joins for a fee of around £4.5 million as Die Fohlen fought off a number of clubs for Itakura's signature.
The likes of Bournemouth, Fulham, and Celtic were all reported to have registered an interest in keeping Itakura in Britain, but he has opted to head for Germany instead.
Itakura's career so far
He started his career in his native Japan, playing for Kawasaki Frontale (the current J-League champions) but he only made seven appearances before heading to England.
Itakura moved to Man City in 2019 at the age of 22, and like many youngsters he never played a game for the Citizens.
However, while contracted to the club, he had two extremely fruitful loan spells at Groningen and Schalke.
At Dutch side Groningen Itakura played 56 times across two seasons in the Eredivisie. He impressed throughout, especially in the 2020/21 campaign where he won Groningen's Players' Player of the Year award.
He followed his time in the Netherlands with a season at Schalke. Itakura helped the Gelsenkirchen club return to the Bundesliga at the first time of asking and had it not been for financial reasons, he would probably be lining up in the blue of Schalke rather than the black and white of Gladbach.
Where will Itakura fit in at Mönchengladbach?
Throughout his career, Itakura has mainly played as a centre back, but can also play in a holding midfield role if necessary.
As highlighted in this article, Gladbach have been in need of players who can fill the centre-back position ever since Matthias Ginter departed for Freiburg.
With the signing of Itakura, Die Fohlen can add the Japanese international to their ranks alongside Nico Elvedi, Marvin Friedrich and Jordan Beyer.
Gladbach's new arrival was described by Bundesliga.com as a similar type of player to former Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen. Rangy, quick along the ground, and comfortable in possession, Itakura should fit right into Daniel Farke's new look team.
The club may have had a few rough seasons as of late, but they'll hope that signings like this one can put them right back into European contention.
What has been said?
Roland Virkus, Borussia Mönchengladbach sporting director: "Ko is an incredibly strong runner and a tactically- discplined player who can play in an array of different positions across the defence, including in defensive midfield."
"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."