Tottenham eye versatile defender with €30m release clause
The 25-year-old can play at left-back or as a central defender.
Hiroki Ito is among Tottenham Hotspur’s list of summer transfer targets.
This was confirmed by Daily Briefing columnist Christian Falk via X.com on Thursday morning.
Falk also revealed that Ito, 25, currently has a release clause set at €30 million in his contract with VfB Stuttgart.
Ito - who has been capped 17 times by Japan at senior international level - was a key member of the Stuttgart side that finished second in the Bundesliga last season.
He started 25 league games - 14 at centre-back and 11 at left-back - as Stuttgart qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2009/10 campaign.
Ito was dribbled past just 15 times all season, while he only committed 17 fouls.
He made 29 interceptions, 37 blocks and 78 clearances.
In possession, Ito played 1,968 passes, including 18 key passes, and he produced two assists.
Spurs are expected to bolster their defensive options this summer.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero looked like an excellent centre-back partnership at times last season but Spurs struggled when either was injured or suspended.
Similarly, manager Ange Postecoglou found it difficult to replace first-choice left-back Destiny Udogie.
It had been hoped that Ryan Sessegnon could play in that role more often but the former Fulham star made just one first-team appearance all season due to a recurring hamstring injury.
Spurs recently confirmed that Sessegnon will be leaving the club on a free transfer this summer.
Japhet Tanganga, Ivan Perisic, Charlie Sayers, Billy Heaps, Kieran Morgan and Han Willhoft-King will also officially leave Tottenham on June 30.
Ito is not the only player Spurs would like to sign this summer. There is also interest in Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano on Thursday morning in an exclusive column, Chelsea want a transfer fee in excess of £50 million for the England international.