PSV target not heading to the World Cup: “He has been sold to Stuttgart for €16.5 million”
1 min readJapan head coach Hajime Moriyasu announced on Friday morning his 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup.
Some surprises are in store, because earlier, PSV target Sano of NEC has not been called up for the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Five of the 26 internationals who have been called up are active in the Eredivisie. N.E.C. midfielder Kodai Sano is therefore absent. This is a source of frustration for many NEC fans, who consider Sano a top player and believe he belongs at the global finals.
Five players from the Dutch league are in the squad: Ko Itakura and Takehiro Tomiyasu (both Ajax), Tsuyoshi Watanabe and Ayase Ueda (both Feyenoord) and Kōki Ogawa (NEC).
So for Kodai Sano, there will therefore be no World Cup this summer. He was still called up by national team coach Moriyasu during the previous international window, but he is missing from the current squad. The 22-year-old midfielder at NEC was frequently linked this winter with a transfer to PSV, but he stayed in Nijmegen. His brother Kaishu Sano, three years older and who plays for Mainz, is included.
A sharp-eyed NEC fan, who isn’t taken very seriously right away on X, reports that PSV target Sano will be sold to VfB Stuttgart this summer for €16.5 million.
As mentioned, we should not immediately take the fan of the Nijmegen side very seriously, but still, on X he sticks to his guns with regard to evidence of his reports about the future of Sano, which therefore will not be at PSV. At least, according to NEC fan Jean Knipping, who claims to have a reliable source.
Comments7
😂 NEC fans echt kapot begrijp ik, Sano had gewoon WK-piek moeten zijn. Maar als er echt 16,5 miljoen op Stuttgart ligt, dan is het ook meteen een mooie stap voor NEC en pijn voor PSV-boards.
Sano not selected is so frustrating for NEC fans, but for PSV it actually feels like a signal. If Moriyasu skipped him after being linked with PSV, maybe his level for that tournament is still not "there" yet. That 16,5m rumour to Stuttgart would sting, tbh...
16,5 miljoen voor Sano naar Stuttgart? If it's true, dat is bijna pijnlijk voor PSV. Tbh Sano zou hier echt waarde toevoegen als controleur op het midden.
Ik snap die NEC-fans wel. Sano was gewoon peak in de Eredivisie, en dan ineens niet geselecteerd. Als die transferstory klopt, is het wel een lesson in hoe snel het kan gaan.
That 16.5m to Stuttgart claim sounds like pure X chaos. If PSV-target Sano really goes to a Bundesliga club, dan wordt de concurrentie ineens wel heeeel serieus. 👀
Sano niet naar het WK is echt zuur voor NEC. Maar als dit salaris- en WK-momentum wegvalt, helpt het PSV nog steeds niet direct haha... 🤡
If that 16,5m to Stuttgart is true, PSV better move fast next time. Sano looked like the type who could boss midfield, not sit in a rotation role. Japan not calling him is a weird sign though, or just politics.