Cerezo Osaka defender Ayumu Seko is joining Swiss outfit Grasshopper Club Zurich on a permanent deal pending a successful medical check, while FC Tokyo forward Kyosuke Tagawa will move to Portuguese club Santa Clara on loan, the J. League first-division clubs said Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Tokyo Olympic defender Seko came through the ranks at Cerezo and won both the J. League's best young player and the League Cup's new hero awards in 2020.
"The club developed me massively both as a footballer and a person over 11 years, starting at the academy ... I will give performances that live up to the image of (a player from) Cerezo Osaka" at Grasshopper, he said in a statement.
Tagawa, a 22-year-old forward who missed out on the Tokyo Olympics, will join Santa Clara on an 18-month loan deal and become a teammate with Japan midfielder Hidemasa Morita.
"I'll look to grow in a new environment to deliver good news to everyone," said Tagawa, who joined FC Tokyo from Sagan Tosu in 2019 and scored five goals in 30 J1 games last season.
Utrecht's Naoki Maeda has been ruled out for the rest of the season, meanwhile, after the on-loan winger from Nagoya Grampus suffered a broken left leg 11 minutes into his debut against Ajax on Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Maeda will need surgery and months of rehabilitation after a strong challenge from Lisandro Martinez left him limping off the pitch.
"My first match for FC Utrecht was also my last," Maeda said in a statement. "It was my big dream to play football in Europe ... I'm not giving up on my dream."