Satoshi Tanaka
Japanese footballer (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Satoshi Tanaka (田中 聡, Tanaka Satoshi; born 13 August 2002) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for German 3. Liga club Fortuna Düsseldorf and the Japan national team. He will join Bundesliga club Schalke 04 for the 2026–27 season.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Satoshi Tanaka[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 13 August 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nagano, Nagano, Japan | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Fortuna Düsseldorf | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Nagano SC | |||||||||||||||||
| Nagano FC Vitoar | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Nagano Parceiro | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Shonan Bellmare | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2024 | Shonan Bellmare | 114 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | → Kortrijk (loan) | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 28 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026– | Schalke 04 | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Japan U17 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Japan | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 June 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12 July 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Shonan Bellmare
On 5 April 2019, Tanaka was registered as a type-2 player with Shonan Bellmare.[2] On 26 May 2020, he was promoted to the first team squad.[3] Tanaka made his professional league debut against Yokohama F. Marinos on 8 July 2020.[4] He scored his first league goal for the club against Sanfreece Hiroshima, scoring in the 56th minute.[5]
Kortrijk (loan)
On 22 August 2022, Tanaka joined Kortrijk in Belgium on loan with an option to buy.[6] He made his league debut for the club against Standard Liège on 28 August 2022.[7] On 4 June 2023, Tanaka returned to Shonan Bellmare from his loan spell.[8]
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
On 30 December 2024, Tanaka was announced at Sanfrecce Hiroshima on a permanent transfer.[9] He scored his first league goal for the club against Thep Xanh Nam Dinh in the AFC Champions League Two on 12 February 2025, scoring in the 88th minute.[10] Tanaka made his league debut for the club against Machida Zelvia on 16 February 2025.[11]
During his time at Sanfreece Hiroshima, Tanaka won the 2025 Japanese Super Cup.[12]
Fortuna Düsseldorf
On 30 December 2025, Fortuna Düsseldorf signed Tanaka on a deal until summer 2030, for a reported transfer fee of €1 million.[13]
Schalke 04
On 10 June 2026, Tanaka signed a four-year contract with Schalke 04,[14] after they had triggered his release clause of an estimated €1 million.[15]
International career
On 12 February 2019, Tanaka was called up to the Japan U17s for the first time.[16]
On 4 October 2019, Tanaka was called up to the Japan U17 squad for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[17]
On 4 April 2024, Tanaka was called up to the Japan U23 squad for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[18] Japan won the competition for the second time in their history.[19]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Shonan Bellmare | 2020 | J1 League | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | J1 League | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 2 | |||
| 2022 | J1 League | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | J1 League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2024 | J1 League | 33 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 5 | |||
| Total | 114 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 0 | — | — | 136 | 7 | ||||
| Kortrijk (loan) | 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2025 | J1 League | 28 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 9[c] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 47 | 4 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 2025–26 | 2. Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
| Schalke 04 | 2026–27 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 170 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 212 | 11 | ||
- Includes Emperor's Cup and Belgian Cup
- Includes J. League Cup
- Four appearances and one goal in AFC Champions League Two, five appearances in AFC Champions League Elite
- Appearance in Japanese Super Cup
Honours
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Japan U23
Japan
Individual
