Manchester City have raised more money to spend on transfers this summer by securing the permanent sale of defender Ko Itakura.
Japan international Itakura, 25, joined City in January 2019 from Kawasaki Frontale for around £1m, and immediately spent 18 months on loan at FC Groningen in the Netherlands - a spell which was then extended for a further season. There, he made 59 appearances, and would spend the 2021/22 season in the Bundesliga at Schalke.
It was in Germany where Itakura really kicked on, having represented Japan in the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics that summer, playing 32 times at Schalke. There was a £5m option for Schalke to buy Itakura this summer, but they couldn't afford that figure, so he has now secured a permanent move 40 miles south-west to Borussia Monchengladbach.
