Japanese star unlikely to join Tottenham as director stands firm

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Tottenham Hotspur are unlikely to be signing Hiroki Ito this summer with Stuttgart completely ruling out his departure.

Stuttgart are refusing to sell defender Hiroki Ito amid rumoured interest from both Ajax and Tottenham Hotspur.

That is according to a report from Bild, who claim that Stuttgart are ‘totally counting’ on Ito to be at the club this season.

The report also carries quotes from sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth in which he ruled out letting Ito leave the club.

“Hiroki is an integral part of our sporting planning. There are currently no considerations about giving him away,” said Wohlgemuth.

Tottenham have been linked with Ito this summer as Sponichi Annex in Japan suggested in June that Ito was emerging as a Spurs target.

Ange Postecoglou knows the Japanese market inside and out so Ito may well have popped onto his radar.

De Telegraaf reported last week that Ajax are looking to bring Ito to Amsterdam to bolster their back line.

Ajax director of football Sven Mislintat only recently left Stuttgart and seemingly wants to take Ito with him.

Mislintat previously praised Ito as ‘incredible’ with his left foot but Stuttgart appear to be standing firm.

Tottenham Hotspur have probably moved on from Hiroki Ito now

Clement Lenglet’s loan spell coming to an end meant Tottenham were always going to explore the market for left-footed centre backs.

Lenglet has even been linked with a return and Ito was thought to be another option for Spurs.

The 24-year-old is a quick and cultured defender who has even played in holding midfield at times.

We can understand why Postecoglou may have had a look but Tottenham’s interest is surely over now.

That’s because Tottenham are now on the verge of signing another left-footed Bundesliga defender in Micky van de Ven.

The Wolfsburg centre back is set to become a Tottenham player this week and solve Postecoglou’s search for a left-footed defender.

Maybe Ito will remain on the Spurs radar but it seems more likely that Tottenham will now move on and Ito will stay in the Bundesliga for a while yet.