Roland Virkus labels Ko Itakura and Julian Weigl as “success stories” at Borussia Mönchengladbach | OneFootball

Ko Itakura (25) and Julian Weigl (27) arrived at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer and both have made an instant impact at the Bundesliga club under Daniel Farke. Itakura, who represented Japan at the World Cup, arrived from Manchester City for €5m and Weigl has joined on an initial loan from Benfica.

Speaking via Kicker, Borussia Mönchengladbach sporting director Roland Virkus has labelled the duo as recent “success stories” in the transfer market. Speaking about Itakura, Virkus said: “It’s a shame that he got injured. I think we would have had more defensive stability with him in the first half of the season. He’s made great development, stands for diligence and will.”

Die Fohlen made an unbeaten start to the season, going four games without defeat in the Bundesliga, which Japan international Itakura was a part of. But he then picked up a serious knee injury that kept him out of eight games before returning against Borussia Dortmund in the final game of the year, playing two minutes.

As for Weigl, the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder has played in 11 of Gladbach’s 15 Bundesliga games this season. Speaking last week, the defensive-midfielder stated that he would be open to joining the Borussia-Park club on a permanent basis, as he’s happy, but stated that the decision isn’t up to him.

Currently eighth, Borussia Mönchengladbach are just eight points behind second-placed Freiburg.