Journalist reveals Spurs-linked centre-back actually has a £26m release clause

Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has revealed that Stuttgart centre-back, Hiroki Ito, who is rumoured to be on Tottenham’s radar, has a release clause of €30m (£26m) in his contract, which can be activated next summer.

Ito has developed impressively since moving to the Bundesliga in 2021, with the defender having been capped 12 times for Japan since making his debut for the Blue Samurai last year.

It was reported by the Japanese outlet Sponichi Annex back in the summer that Ange Postecoglou had kept an eye on the centre-back since his time in the J-League and was keen on bringing him to Spurs.

The report added that Stuttgart had started looking for a successor for the 24-year-old as they feared an approach from the Premier League side for the player.

Should Spurs rekindle interest in Hiroki Ito?

However, since then, the speculation linking Ito with a move to Tottenham has died down and there has been no suggestion recently that the club are plotting an offer for the player in January.

Plettenberg has now taken to social media to reveal that the centre-back’s contract at Stuttgart contains a release clause of £26m.

However, he explains that the clause will only become active by the end of the current season. The journalist further added that Ito wants to remain at the MHPArena at least until next summer.

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One would expect a number of European sides to be tempted to activate Ito’s release clause next summer. Stuttgart will likely attempt to tie down the 24-year-old to a new contract in an effort to remove the clause.