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 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||||||
| Number | 25 | ||||||
| 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) | ||||
| 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
| |||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 July 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 28 June 2025 (UTC) |
Kōta Takai (高井 幸大, Takai Kōta; born 4 September 2004) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Tottenham Hotspur and the Japan national team.
Club career
[edit]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]
On 8 July 2025, Takai agreed to join Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent transfer until 2030.[4] 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.[5][6]
International career
[edit]On 4 April 2024, Takai was called up to the Japan U23 squad for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[7] 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.[8]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 5 July 2025[9]
| 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 | — | — | 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 |
| Career total | 60 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 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
[edit]- As of match played 10 June 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 |
Honours
[edit]Club
[edit]Kawasaki Frontale
International
[edit]Japan U23
Individual
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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
[edit]- Kōta Takai at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
- Kōta Takai at Soccerway
- Kōta Takai at Olympics.com
- Kōta Takai – Paris 2024 at Team Japan (in Japanese) (in English)
- Kōta Takai on Instagram
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Categories:
- 2004 births
- Living people
- Football people from Yokohama
- Japanese men's footballers
- Japan men's youth international footballers
- Japan men's international footballers
- Men's association football defenders
- Kawasaki Frontale players
- Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
- J1 League players
- Footballers at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Olympic footballers for Japan
- 21st-century Japanese sportsmen
- Japanese expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Japanese expatriate sportspeople in England
- Japanese football biography stubs