Official: Schalke confirm Ko Itakura capture
FC Schalke 04 officially welcomed their highest-market-value new arrival since the 2020/21 relegation on Thursday evening.
Photo: CC BY-SA 2.0 |
The 24-year-old central defender becomes the third City football group player to make a move to die Knappen. Recently re-loaned Welsh attacker Rabbi Matondo and--subject of a collapsed transfer earlier this summer--Matija Nastasic are the other two.
"We are very pleased that we were able to complete this transfer," S04 sporting director Rouven Schröder noted in a statement on the club's website, "We have been watching Ko Itakura for some time and are absolutely convinced of his qualities. Although he's only 24-years-of-age, he brings with him a great deal of experience and will enrich our squad."
Itakura has still not made an appearance for the Citizens, but did make a total of 59 competitive appearances on loan at FC Groningen in two and a half years in the Erdevisie.
ようこそ
— FC Schalke 04 (@s04) August 19, 2021
_____________
*Herzlich willkommen! 🇯🇵👋🏽#S04 | 🔵⚪️ | @kougogo1270 pic.twitter.com/OBnooghLDk