LONDON - Japan attacker Keito Nakamura has joined Olympique Lyonnais on a four-year deal, the French Ligue 1 club said Wednesday, after completing his transfer from second-tier club Stade de Reims.
The 26-year-old was one of Japan's standout performers on his World Cup debut this summer in North America, starting all four games and scoring the Samurai Blue's first goal of the campaign in their 2-2 group-stage draw with the Netherlands.
Nakamura will look to help Lyon reclaim the Ligue 1 title for the first time since the 2007-08 season when they became champions for the seventh straight campaign. They finished fourth last season and are in the Europa League this term.
"I'm very happy to join OL. It's a huge club," Nakamura, who will wear the No. 11 jersey, said on the Lyon website. "I can't wait to play and make a difference in this new shirt."
After making his professional debut with J.League first-division club Gamba Osaka, Nakamura has been in Europe since 2019.
Having first appeared for Twente in the Netherlands, he also played for Sint-Truiden in Belgium and LASK in Austria before joining Reims in 2023.
While this summer's transfer window closed on Tuesday for the top five European leagues including the Ligue 1, local reports said Nakamura has joined on special rules in France that permit clubs to make a transfer from another French club after the deadline.
Nakamura has 11 goals in 29 games for Japan since his senior national team debut in March 2023.
