Mebae Tanaka signs for Glasgow City | OneFootball

Mebae Tanaka (Glasgow City)

Japanese winger Mebae Tanaka has signed a two-year deal with Glasgow City.

“I’m so happy to be here and to join this amazing club,” the 29-year-old told the club website.

Head coach Leanne Ross added: “I’m really happy to bring Mebae to Glasgow City. She is a player with very good technical abilities, and she will bring even more quality and depth to an already strong squad.

“She has gained a lot of professional experience from her time in Japan, South Korea and New Zealand which will be incredibly valuable in this environment.”

Tanaka becomes the club’s sixth signing of the summer.

Mebae Tanaka’s career so far

Tanaka played professionally in her native Japan and with Suwon FC in the South Korean top flight before joining Preston Lions in Melbourne, Australia, where she scored 10 goals in 18 matches.

“I really enjoyed my time at Preston,” she has said previously. “They had a good coach and good people and they helped me a lot, especially with my English.”

The 29-year-old then went on to play for Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand, where she made 19 appearances during her debut season, scoring once.

She described herself at that time as “a technical player and [I] like to dribble, play short passes, deliver crosses and do a lot of running.

“To start with I just want to play and then I want to score goals and assist others.”

She left New Zealand in July along with four other overseas players.

Glasgow City’s history

The Scottish Women’s Premier League 1 season has already begun, with Glasgow City currently third on goal difference behind Rangers and Hibernian.

They finished second in the league last season, behind Hibernian, and as runners-up in the Women’s Scottish Cup, losing 3-0 to Rangers in the final.

Glasgow City’s next match is away against Aberdeen on Saturday, 23rd August. They then head into UEFA Women’s Champions League qualification against Austria Wien on Wednesday, 27th August.

Glasgow City were formed in 1998, and are an independent team, unattached to a men’s club. They play at Petershill Park in Springburn, north Glasgow, and have won 16 league titles, most recently in 2022-23, nine Scottish Women’s Cups, and six Scottish Women’s Premier League Cups.

Head coach Leanne Ross, a Scotland international with more than a hundred caps for her country, previously played for the club and holds several of their goalscoring records. She won 14 league titles with the club as a player.