The second team of Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach can be happy about a reinforcement for the attack. The new man will arrive in the new year.

Borussia Mönchengladbach will sign Japanese junior international Shio Fukuda on 15 January 2023. The 18-year-old striker is earmarked for the U23s, but can also still be used in the U19s.

“We are pleased that Shio Fukuda has chosen us, although he had numerous offers from the Japanese J1 League. He is a technically skilled, agile and developable striker with great potential,” says Borussia’s director of the youth training centre, Mirko Sandmöller.

Fukuda has played for all of his country’s national under-16 teams. He currently plays for Kamimura High School in Japan. At the beginning of next year, he will now venture to Europe. “I feel very honoured that I will soon be able to play for such a big and traditional club. Despite my still young age, I made a conscious decision to move to Borussia because I see the best development opportunities for me here,” Fukuda is quoted as saying.

Borussia Mönchengladbach U23: 17 points from twelve games

Things are not yet going perfectly for Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U23, coached by Eugen Polanski, in this Regionalliga West season. The “little foals” have picked up 17 points in twelve games. That puts them just two points above the bottom of the tight Regionalliga West table.

Polanski is probably particularly annoyed by the many draws. Gladbach II have only lost one of their last nine matches, but they have also drawn four times.

The Mönchengladbach reserves have another chance to win on Sunday. The derby at 1. FC Köln, in the Franz-Kremer-Stadion, will kick off at 2 p.m.