There is still plenty of time for the J. League winter transfer market to kick into full swing, but that hasn't stopped Nagoya Grampus from setting their stall out early.

Defeat in the Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day means it is now more than a decade since Nagoya last won any silverware. If the signings the club has made so far are any indication, Grampus and manager Dragan Stojkovic have serious ambitions of putting that to rights over the coming year.

As statements of intent go, luring Marcus Tulio Tanaka from Urawa Reds takes some beating. The national team defender has been arguably the best player in the J. League since the last World Cup, and turned down lucrative offers from Europe and the Middle East to join Grampus.