Hiroki Ito has extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until mid-2027, the club has announced through the official channels. The Japanese was at the top of the list this summer at Ajax, which received zero from Stuttgart despite several bids. The team from Amsterdam had already given up on Ito’s arrival due to the stiff negotiations with his club and have been transferred to Gastón Ávila, who can now call himself an Ajax player.
“I am very happy to have extended my contract with VfB Stuttgart,” Ito said through official channels. “I would like to express my gratitude to the club management, my family and my agent. I am very happy in Stuttgart. Especially our home games, with our fans and the special atmosphere in the stadium, are very special to me. I am very happy with my development at VfB. When I came to Stuttgart from the Japanese second division in 2021, I never imagined that I would play so many games and be called up to the national team a year later. I will continue to work hard, give 100 percent and fight on the pitch in the VfB colours.”
Ito was long regarded as a top target in Amsterdam. The left central defender annex left back should have given more depth to the defense in Amsterdam and Ajax therefore submitted several bids, which were rejected by Stuttgart. The German club already lost Konstantinos Mavropanos to West Ham United this summer and did not want to let another mainstay go in the rear. Ajax switched through and quickly reached an agreement with Gastón Ávila of Royal Antwerp, who, like Ito, can play both centrally and at left back. The left-footed Argentinian has now signed a five-year contract in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
The fact that Ito was the first choice for a long time was largely due to Ajax’s technical director Sven Mislintat. Ito himself was brought to Stuttgart on a rental basis by the German in the summer of 2021. A year later, Stuttgart took him over from Jubilo Iwata for 400,000 euros. Last season, Ito was an undisputed basic player at Stuttgart and played 37 official matches. Last weekend, Ito was still important for his club with a nice assist for the opening goal of Serhou Guirassy, who was also on Ajax’s radar. The match against VfL Bochum eventually ended in a 5-0 draw the Swabians be the proud leader in the Bundesliga after a round.