Takuro Kaneko is departing Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, becoming the latest Meiji Yasuda J.League player to make the leap to Europe. Kaneko will join Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb on a season-long loan and Dinamo will retain an option to make the deal permanent.

Kaneko made his professional debut with Consa in 2019 and slowly grew into one of the club’s best players. He tallied eight goals and four assists this season, leading the way for one of the J.League’s most explosive sides before finalizing this midseason move.

The 25-year-old brings a dangerous left foot to the Croatian giants and will be asked to supercharge the attack at a club that always expects to compete for trophies. No club in the history of the Croatian league has won more titles than Dinamo’s 24 and they will enter European competition in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, giving Kaneko the chance to play in the world’s biggest club tournament.