Sota Kitano. (Photo courtesy of J-League)(Kyodo)
OSAKA (Kyodo) — Cerezo Osaka on Monday announced 20-year-old forward Sota Kitano’s move to Austrian club Salzburg.
His contract runs until the end of June 2029, according to Salzburg, who will play in the 32-team Club World Cup beginning Saturday in the United States.
Kitano, a Cerezo youth product, has scored eight goals in 68 J-League first-division matches. He represented Japan at the U-20 World Cup in 2023 in Argentina.
“I’m thankful to everyone I met at Cerezo Osaka,” Kitano said in a statement through the club. “I’ll do my best to give back.”
Kitano follows in the footsteps of Takumi Minamino in leaving the Osaka outfit for the Austrian side after the current Japan and Monaco attacker made the move in 2015.
AloJapan.com