FC Bayern is working on its squad for the coming season and also wants to strengthen its defense – and is close to signing Stuttgart’s Hiroki Ito.
Soon a Munich player? Hiroki Ito is about to move to FCB. IMAGO/eu-images
Hiroki Ito has been playing for VfB Stuttgart since summer 2021 and has become a fixture at the Swabian club. His performances last season were extremely strong: in 26 Bundesliga games for VfB, he achieved a strong kicker rating average of 2.94. The Japanese played a major role in Stuttgart qualifying for the Champions League.
It is not surprising that Ito has attracted the interest of larger and financially stronger clubs. In the winter, the left-back was a topic of discussion at the top Saudi club Al-Nassr, which includes Cristiano Ronaldo and the former Munich player Sadio Mané. Later, Al-Ahli also took an interest in Ito, but he resisted the lucrative offers. Most recently, Tottenham Hotspur had their eye on the Japanese – but he apparently has no plans to go to England.
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Financially an excellent deal for VfB
Instead, Ito is about to move to FC Bayern Munich. A corresponding Bild-Report corresponds to information from kicker. The transfer fee is said to be 28 million euros – this is a fixed exit clause. It can also be assumed that Stuttgart will receive a share of the resale.
The 19-time Japanese international impresses with his speed and a good eye; as a left-footer, Ito can play as a left centre-back as well as a left-back – and would thus give Bayern coach Vincent Kompany further options in defence.
For VfB, Ito’s departure would be a huge loss in sporting terms, but at the same time a tremendous added value financially. In the summer of 2022, the left-back came to Stuttgart from Jubilo Iwata for a loan fee of around 100,000 euros. A year later, he was signed permanently for a further 600,000 euros. Now he could be sold for over 40 times that amount.
2024-06-12 19:52:26
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