Japan and FC Tokyo defender Yuto Nagatomo is close to a deal with Italian club Cesena, sources close to the player said Thursday.
Nagatomo's agent, who is currently in Europe, will shortly hold the final stages of negotiations with Cesena, which was promoted to Italy's top-tier Serie A after the 2009-10 season, they said.
Earlier reports said several other European clubs had shown interest in Nagatomo, including Serie A side Bologna, Spain's Real Mallorca, Borussia Dortmund of the German Bundesliga and English Premier League club Birmingham City.
Nagatomo impressed on the left side of Japan's backline, playing the full minutes in all of their four World Cup games in South Africa.