Japan defender Uchida to join Schalke: reports

Japan and Kashima Antlers defender Atsuto Uchida is set to join German powerhouse Schalke 04 after the World Cup finals starting in South Africa next month, press reports said Thursday.

The two clubs will work out details of his contract after the J-League goes into a World Cup break on May 17, the reports said.

“It won’t take long until the deal is finalised,” Kashima’s director of technical development, Mitsuru Suzuki, told Kyodo News. The club’s public relations official, Hiroki Koshini, could not confirm the reports.

Uchida, a 22-year-old right back, helped Kashima clinch a third straight J-League title in the last March-December season. He has scored one goal in 31 matches for Japan since his international debut in January 2008.

Japan coach Takeshi Okada has picked Uchida as one of seven defenders in his final 23-men World Cup squad.

Schalke 04 finished runners-up to Bayern Munich in the just ended Bundesliga season.

The swift-footed defender joined Kashima in 2006 after graduating from high school. His current contract with Kashima will expire in June 2013.