Tottenham Hotspur have won four of their past five matches in the Premier League to put November's injury-inflicted collapse firmly behind them, with Ange Postecoglou's side just one point behind fourth-placed neighbours Arsenal after the season's midpoint.
While an away fixture against Manchester United on January 14th is the only league outing for the club until the end of the month, the FA Cup campaign takes off in just one week and Spurs will lose influential captain Heung-min Son to the Asia Cup, with the situation compounded by further absences for the African Cup of Nations.
Signings were always going to be paramount this winter to aid the side's pursuit of continental qualification – having languished to an eighth-placed finish last year – but with players dropping like flies on the injury front, it's understandable that Postecoglou has demanded reinforcements across every angle of the pitch.
The Australian manager has admitted that the backline is his "priority" this month, with reliable reports suggesting that an exciting centre-back could be lined up for a transfer.
Spurs transfer news – Ko Itakura
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham are "monitoring" Borussia Monchengladbach defender Ko Itakura, with Postecoglou an admirer since his Celtic days.
While the 26-year-old Japan international has a release clause inserted in his contract, this will not activate until the summer and thus make January negotiations difficult, though not impossible, especially with the Lilywhites so desperate for fresh support.
Joining for €5m (£4m) from Manchester City in 2022, Itakura has established himself as one of German football's most impressive defenders, and with Liverpool also regularly sending scouts to observe him in action, it would be wise to act fast and snap him up.
Ko Itakura's style of play
Described as "outstanding" and a "leading figure" shortly into his career at Gladbach by former manager Daniel Farke, Itakura was immense last season, completing 91% of his passes in the Bundesliga, averaging 3.8 clearances per game and winning 62% of his duels, as per Sofascore.
He had demonstrated his worth as a top-class defender capable of succeeding on the major stage, having spent multiple campaigns out on loan while on Manchester City's books, never making a senior appearance for the Premier League giants.
That said, having spent 2019/20 – 2020/21 on loan in the Netherlands with Groningen, Itakura sowed the seeds for a successful career and was even noted to be "one of the very best central defenders in the Eredivisie" by pundit Hans Kraay.
While the current campaign has been unkind to the 6 foot 2 titan, who has been sidelined since October with an ankle injury, he has still popped up with two goals from just seven league matches.
As per FBref, the £31k-per-week ace ranks among the top 15% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 12% for pass completion and the top 7% for blocks per 90, with his playing style likened to that of Real Madrid's Eder Militao, who has been pronounced as "the best centre-back in the world" by his manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Speaking of the player's skills, Gladach sporting director Roland Virkus said: "Ko covers an unbelievable amount of ground and is a tactically disciplined player who can operate in different positions in defence, including as a No.6."
With a wide range of abilities, Spurs would secure the signing of a dynamic defender capable of slotting right into Postecoglou's fluid system, and given that he had desperately fought for his services in Scotland, he clearly knows all about his qualities and how they would flourish under his wing.
Itakura is an adept operator on the left side of the central defence, with an impressive ball-playing ability married with a two-footedness that suggests, arriving from Germany, Spurs could replicate the brilliant summer signing of Micky van de Ven.
How Ko Itakura compares to Micky van de Ven
Completing a £43m transfer from Wolfsburg in August, Van de Ven has been a revelation in patching up a backline that shipped 63 goals in the English top-flight last season.
1
Leeds United
19th
78
2
Southampton
20th
73
3
Bournemouth
15th
71
4
Leicester City
18th
68
4
Nottingham Forest
16th
68
6
Tottenham Hotspur
8th
63
*Sourced via Sky Sports
Across his first 11 outings in the division, the Netherlands international had completed 95% of his passes, averaged 5.4 recoveries per game and won a whopping 74% of his ground duels, earning merit for his high-energy performances, with unseen athleticism that was instrumental in Postecoglou's early-season success.
He is among the most remarkably quick central defenders in Europe, with his top speed of 22.3 mph (35.97 km/h) the fastest of any centre-half in Germany last season – for reference, this surpasses Heung-min Son's pace of 21.31 mp/h (34.30 km/h).
It's a remarkable tool to wield for one situated in the rearguard, with Van de Ven ranking among the top 8% of positional peers for progressive carries and the top 4% for successful take-ons per 90 to punctuate this point.
Well, with Van de Ven still sidelined after sustaining a hamstring injury in November – nearly two months ago – surely Spurs can't repeat the feat? Well, Lilywhites fears could be allayed should Itakura join the fold, with the Bundesliga player hailed as "incredibly fast" by the earlier-mentioned Kraay.
Spurs' track record of swooping for Bundesliga players, though infrequent, is certainly not poor, and the Die Fohlen would be the perfect counterweight to Van de Ven in the Tottenham team, at ease on the left side of central defence and boasting pace and passing prowess to match.
