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Tottenham have released footage of new signing Kota Takai training with his teammates at Hotspur Way, and the centre-back seemed to do well in the fitness test and made a hilarious comment at the end of it.
Kota Takai got his work permit earlier this week and has begun pre-season training at Hotspur Way.
The 20-year-old arrives with a big reputation from J-League side Kawasaki Frontale, but he faces a major challenge in adapting to the intensity and pace of the Premier League.
Takai has set his sights on breaking into the Tottenham team, but that will be no easy task, given the abundance of options Thomas Frank has at his disposal.
Kota Takai gives a hilarious response after Tottenham fitness test
Football.London have poured through the training footage that Tottenham Hotspur released of Takai, and they spotted that a translator was following the defender.
However, they noted that the youngster did understand what the fitness coaches said to him and even responded in English, which suggests that he should not have any issues communicating with his new teammates.
Takai and his Tottenham teammates then had to do a 1km shuttle run, which had to be completed within three minutes and 15 seconds.
The Japanese defender seemed to complete it faster than many of his teammates, which is not surprising given that he is in better physical condition right now, having arrived at Spurs in the middle of the J-League season.
Takai collapsed to the ground after finishing the test, and when the cameraman asked him: “How was that, Good?”, the centre-back shook his head and responded: “Not good”, with a smile.
Why Takai will have to be patient at Spurs this season
Takai can play on both sides of central defence, which makes him a valuable squad option for Frank to have.
However, the 20-year-old is not likely to get too much game time in his first few months at Spurs. Not only is he competing with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin, and Ben Davies, but also potentially with fellow youngsters Luka Vuskovic and Ashley Phillips.
Reports indicate that Tottenham have no plans to loan out Takai this summer, but one wonders if Tottenham may reconsider their stance in January.
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