Tottenham Hotspur hopes that Lightning will not hit twice if they only sign their second Japanese star.
Talksport understands that Spurs have agreed a 5 million pound deal for signing Kawasaki Frontal -Defender Kota Takai.
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If the 20-year-old’s move through as expected, this would be a record transfer for a player in the J1 league who is moved overseas.
Spurs have previously tried their luck to bring a highly rated Japan national player from their national top department.
In January 2003, the North London Outfit Kazuyuki Toda signed Shimizu S-Pulses in a 12-month loan agreement to sign the player.
The midfielder arrived in the White Hart Lane and was limited to four Premier League excursions to 189 minutes.
Former boss Glenn Hoddle was lyrically via Toda after his signing, who had helped Japan to reach the last 16 of the World Cup months earlier.
Hoddle said: “Toda is an incredibly impressive midfielder and we look forward to welcoming him to the club.
“His addition to the squad will give us more options in this area, and I am sure that fans will quickly see the benefits of its strengths.”
Only the third Japanese player who went to the Premier League after Junichi Inamoto and Akinori Nishizaw after Junichi Inamoto and Akinori Nishizaw.
But both men fought in England, whereby Nishizaw was not visible in Bolton in the 2001/02 season, while Inamoto could not penetrate the Arsenal team in the same campaign.
Inamoto finally became the first Japanese star to be seen in the Premier League in the Premier League during his loan in Fulham.
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Toda underlines the struggles of his compatriots in front of him and told the club’s website: “I understand that a Japanese player is not really successful here and I want to change this picture and become the first player to be successful.
“Junichi Inamoto said it took a year until I was standing. I hope it won’t take a year before I can adapt. I want to adapt as soon as possible and play for Tottenham.”
Before I add: “I am very happy to be here. It is a great club, a great story, great players and this is my dream of being part of the Premiership.
“Now I’m here to play and show my best, and hopefully I’ll be successful here.”
But to say that Tulda’s time was overwhelming at Spurs would be an understatement.
Although he arrived in January, it took until March 1st to do the bank at all, where he remained a unused replacement for six games in a row.
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On Good Friday, where at the beginning of the second half as a replacement for Manchester City, he finally made his debut in Manchester City.
In his display, he was rewarded in West Brom with a first start three days later, but he couldn’t take the full 90 minutes after he was enthusiastic at half -time.
A first start in the White Hart Lane against Manchester United followed, where he lasted 78 minutes when Spurs lost 2-0 against the later Champions.
Toda thought about the game in 2019, revealed how he attracted the attention of the hard tackling Roy Keane for the wrong reason after a fight with David Beckham.
He remembered: “Yes, I was a bit nervous! My wife and my mother came to the stadium to watch her.
“Manchester United were very strong, organized, many world-class players. I couldn’t do it well! Roy Keane was hard.
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“I remember that I did a big duel against David Beckham in the second half. After this duel, Roy Keane stared at me. I remember it!”
Toda’s last excursion for Spurs came on the last day of the 2002/03 season, where he was brought by the bank for the last 21 minutes in a 4-0 home accident against Blackburn.
After Toda had become a regular part of the campaign towards the end of the campaign, he increased a calf injury that held him on the side at the beginning of the next term.
And after a catastrophic opening of six games in the 2003/04 campaign, Hoddle was released, where he was replaced on the basis of David Pleat.
Just a month later, Spurs lowered the short film magic of Toda, whereby the record insisted that there is no place for him in his squad.
He noticed: “There is an increasing competition for places in midfield, so we would probably not sign it now.”
But Toda does not regret how his time went in England and insisted that he fulfilled a dream by playing for Spurs.
The 47-year-old said: “It was the biggest challenge in my life. I did my best. My ability may not be enough, but I did my best.
“I only played four first team games for Spurs, but it’s still so special for me.
“I was so excited when I knew that Spurs wanted to sign me. It was a dream that had become true. I took as much effort as possible. I didn’t regret it, I did the best I could.
“I played Robbie Keane, Gus Poyet, Jamie Redknapp and Darren Andton with many world-class players. That was good for me as a footballer. I learned a lot during this time.”
Toda would remain in Europe – for the rest of the season to the Dutch side of Ado den Haag – before returning to Asia in 2004, where he retired in 2013.