Rangers Sign Daisuke Yokota from Hannover 96
Rangers have dipped back into the European market and landed another attacking weapon, completing the signing of winger Daisuke Yokota from Hannover 96 in a deal that underlines the club’s intent for the season ahead.
The 26-year-old arrives at Ibrox for an initial £2.75m, with add-ons attached, and has signed a three-year contract that includes an option for a further 12 months. It is a commitment on both sides: Rangers betting on a wide player entering his prime, Yokota choosing Glasgow as the stage for the next chapter of a career built the hard way.
A winger with numbers – and miles on the clock
Yokota comes with end product. Last season in Germany’s 2. Bundesliga, he scored five goals and supplied four assists for Hannover 96, numbers that caught the eye of Rangers’ recruitment team and convinced Derek McInnes he had found a winger who can punch through defences rather than just decorate games.
He could be thrown straight into European duty. Registration permitting, Yokota may feature in Rangers’ Europa League squad for Thursday’s third-round qualifier first leg against Jagiellonia Białystok, a tie that already carries significance for the club’s season narrative. A sharp, direct wide player with pace and a taste for the final third is exactly the sort of option managers like to have when the margins tighten on European nights.
This is no raw prospect. Yokota has criss-crossed the continent and earned his stripes in a variety of environments. He began in Tokyo, then left home at 18 to chase a career in Europe, joining the academy at FSV Frankfurt before moving on to FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Those are not glamorous stops, but they are the kind that shape a player.
The real breakthrough came in Latvia. In 2021 he signed for Valmiera and became a central figure in a historic campaign, driving the club to their first ever championship title in 2022 with eight goals and 10 assists. From there, his path took him to Poland with Górnik Zabrze, then to Gent in 2024, and on to Hannover 96, where a successful loan spell was converted into a permanent move last season.
Now, that journey leads to Ibrox.
McInnes gets his man
Yokota becomes Rangers’ ninth signing of a busy summer window, joining Ivor Pandur, Vanja Dragojevic, Olwethu Makhanya, Ross McCrorie, Dan Neil, Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin and Ben Godfrey in a rebuilt squad.
McInnes has been clear about what he wants from his new winger. He described Yokota as a player the club have tracked “for some time” and one who will “really strengthen our attacking options”. The manager highlighted his pace, his directness and, crucially, his ability to make things happen in the final third – qualities Rangers have sought to add across the forward line.
At 26, Yokota arrives with a broad portfolio of experience from several European leagues, the sort of varied background that often translates well to the physical and tactical demands of Scottish football. He is not coming to learn the game. He is coming to influence it.
The player himself has spoken of the size of the club, the history, the support and the ambition, and of a desire to help Rangers chase success and “create some special memories” this season. The words are familiar enough, but the intent behind them will be measured on the pitch, not in the press room.
For McInnes, the work of reshaping his squad continues, but this deal ticks a key box. A quick, assertive wide player with a proven eye for goal and assists, hardened by years on the road, now pulls on a Rangers shirt.
The next question is simple: how quickly can Daisuke Yokota turn that long, winding journey into decisive moments in front of a packed Ibrox?
