Tottenham Hotspur Women don’t need another warm body in the squad.
They don’t need another academy punt, another short-term patch job, or another recruitment spin about “the project.” They need a defender who can actually make them better. Someone who doesn’t just plug holes but rebuilds the foundation.
Enter Toko Koga.
The 19-year-old Japanese center-back—fresh from Feyenoord—arrives in North London with a four-year deal and a number 32 shirt, and with the sort of résumé that Tottenham haven’t signed in years: one forged in adversity, sharpened against world-class opposition, and dripping with the promise of something bigger. The question isn’t whether Koga is talented. Everyone knows she is—she ranked 6th in Goal’s NXGN 2025 list of the most exciting prospects in the world. The question is whether she can make Tottenham, a side that stumbled their way to 11th place in the WSL last season, actually better.
Because Spurs were rotten last year. Weak defensively, blunt in attack, reliant on Bethany England’s goals just to avoid the drop. The numbers don’t lie: 44 conceded, just 26 scored. The whole structure was fragile, and Robert Vilahamn’s tenure ended in the sack. Martin Ho has been drafted in with big talk about building, about winning, about not just “taking part.” Fine words. But words mean nothing if your backline caves in by November. That’s where Koga comes in.
From Osaka to London: The Making of a Relentless Defender
Born in 2006, Koga came through the JFA Academy Fukushima, a crucible for Japanese talent. By 18 she’d already made the jump to Europe, signing with Feyenoord in January 2024. Feyenoord’s Women’s Football Coordinator, Manon Melis, described her as “one of Japan’s most talented players” and praised her for integrating into European football “like she’d been here for years.”
The stats back it up: 35 appearances, three goals, and one absolute thunderbolt strike against Excelsior that Feyenoord fans still talk about.
But Koga’s impact wasn’t just about numbers. Feyenoord were hardly Eredivisie title challengers—some commentators dismissed them as a mid-table experiment in development—but she gave them steel. She gave them direction. She gave them a defender who didn’t panic under pressure, who wasn’t scared of playing the ball out, who looked like she’d been doing this for a decade.
Koga herself is blunt about why she came to Europe:
“Transferring to the Dutch league helped me adjust to the environment in Europe. Playing in a different environment from Japan helped me to develop as a defender.”
It wasn’t about Feyenoord as a destination. It was about Feyenoord as a launchpad. Now Spurs are banking on that launch trajectory continuing in North London.
The International Proving Ground
What really separates Koga from so many “next big thing” tags is what she’s already done at international level.
She wasn’t just a training player with Nadeshiko Japan. She was in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics, starting all but one game as Japan reached the quarterfinals. She didn’t just blend in—she grew. She learned. She figured out where the gaps were. As she said herself:
“It made me realise that we still have to improve to win the tournament.”
And then came the moment that turned her from promise into prophecy. SheBelieves Cup, February 2025. Japan versus the United States. Koga comes on at half-time, the youngest player on the pitch, the least experienced in theory. Then she lashes in the winning goal that delivers Japan the trophy.
A 19-year-old defender burying the USA on their own stage? That’s not normal. That’s not a fluke. That’s the sort of defining moment you build careers around. That’s the sort of mentality Spurs have lacked.
What She Brings Spurs
Spurs haven’t signed a project. They’ve signed a player who already knows how to compete.
Defensive Intelligence – Koga’s positioning is sharp for her age. She reads the game in a way Spurs’ previous defenses have failed to do, often reacting one step ahead of attackers rather than chasing shadows.
Ball Progression – This isn’t a centre-half who just boots it into Row Z. She’s comfortable carrying the ball forward, stepping into midfield, and initiating attacks. In preseason against Sevilla, her ability to slip past the press and feed midfielders looked like an instant upgrade on Spurs’ stilted buildup.
Versatility – Center-back is her natural spot, but she can also slot in as a defensive midfielder. For Martin Ho, who’s already talking about “positional flexibility” and experimenting with new pressing structures, that’s gold dust.
Mentality – Tottenham’s culture has been flaky for too long. Koga is a player who’s openly declared:
“I want to achieve a Champions League title. To get there, I need to go to a higher-level league and team. I believe I can reach that higher level if I grow more.”
Spurs have been accused of lacking ambition, of being content with survival. Koga doesn’t do content. She doesn’t do survival. She does ambition.
Spurs’ Rotten Foundations
Let’s be clear: one player doesn’t fix a broken squad. Spurs’ defensive frailty was structural. It wasn’t just bad defenders, it was bad organisation. It was a midfield that offered no shield. It was a team that looked like it had no idea when to press, when to sit, when to close space.
Martin Ho promises change. His early friendlies showed higher pressing, sharper corner routines, and positional rotations. But football is brutal: you don’t get months to make your system work. If Spurs start slow, if they get dragged into the relegation zone again, the fans will turn.
Koga is the right signing, but she can’t be the only one. She needs Bethany England firing up top. She needs midfielders like Eveliina Summanen and Olga Ahtinen to actually control games instead of ceding them. She needs Spurs’ recruitment to finally look like a plan, not a patchwork.
The cynical view? Daniel Levy’s “investment” in the women’s side has been tokenistic at best. Fans are rightly furious at the minimal budgets, at the over-reliance on average players. Koga feels like an outlier, not the start of a revolution. And unless Levy backs Ho properly, Spurs risk wasting her.
Can She Make Them Better?
So, the burning question: does Toko Koga make Spurs better?
Yes. Immediately, yes. She’s too good not to. She raises their defensive ceiling. She gives them a player who can handle the WSL’s physicality, who won’t fold when Chelsea or Arsenal start suffocating Spurs in their own box.
But here’s the brutal truth: one elite signing in a sea of mediocrity doesn’t lift you to the top. Koga is a Champions League dreamer in a club still trying to prove it belongs in the WSL mid-table. She might drag Spurs up a couple of places. She might stop them being soft touches. She might even give them a backbone.
But if Spurs want to actually be a threat? They’ll need more Kogas. More ambition. More ruthlessness.
As things stand, Koga is a gem dropped into a broken setting. She’ll shine regardless. The question is whether Spurs can build something worthy around her.
If they don’t, don’t be surprised if she’s lifting a Champions League trophy one day—but not in lilywhite
doragon sports 