Schalke 04 sign Satoshi Tanaka

FC Schalke 04 have strengthened their midfield with the signing of Satoshi Tanaka from Fortuna Düsseldorf. The defensive midfielder made 13 appearances for Fortuna in the second half of last season, having previously been under contract at Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Japan until December 2025.

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Satoshi Tanaka and Maximilian Lüftl sit in front of the contract documents at S04’s offices, with a welcome graphic featuring the Japanese midfielder’s name and photo displayed on a screen behind them.

The 23-year-old represented Japan’s youth national teams and made his senior international debut in summer 2025. Tanaka has signed a long-term contract with Schalke until 2030.

“Satoshi has exactly the qualities we were looking for in that holding midfield role. He is aggressive without the ball, dynamic and agile, while his work rate and intensity fit our game really well. We’re confident he can help us in the Bundesliga,” explained Youri Mulder, director of professional football.

His work rate and intensity fit our game really well.

Youri Mulder

“Those in charge at FC Schalke 04 explained to me in detail during our discussions just how well I would fit into their style of football in the Bundesliga. That really impressed me. I am very much looking forward to those first training sessions together at the beginning of July and to playing at the VELTINS-Arena,” said Satoshi Tanaka.

Satoshi Tanaka came through the academy at Japanese club Shonan Bellmare and made the step up to the senior side there. He made 114 appearances for the club in Japan’s J1 League. In summer 2022, Tanaka was loaned to KV Kortrijk for one season and played in Belgium’s top flight. The left-footed midfielder then returned to Japan and joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He played in the AFC Champions League with Hiroshima and made 28 appearances in the J1 League. In January 2026, he moved to Fortuna Düsseldorf.

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