Borussia Mönchengladbach Sign Daiki Hashioka on Loan

Borussia Mönchengladbach are moving quickly to plug a gap they never expected to have this early in pre-season.

Barely weeks after unveiling Yukhym Konoplya as a key summer signing, the club are closing in on another right-back: Japanese international Daiki Hashioka. According to Sky Germany, as cited by transfermarkt.de, Gladbach have agreed a loan deal with Slavia Prague that includes an option to buy, with the 27-year-old due for his medical on Thursday.

It is a reactive move, but not a panicked one.

Hashioka the emergency solution – and more

Konoplya’s setback has forced Gladbach’s hand. The Ukrainian suffered a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during the Foals’ 2-1 friendly win over Rot-Weiss Essen, a routine summer outing that suddenly carried a heavy cost. He is expected to be sidelined for around two months and will miss the entirety of the club’s training camp at Tegernsee, including all team sessions.

That injury has accelerated talks for Hashioka, who would become the club’s eighth signing of the window and the second Japanese player to arrive after Zento Uno. Last season, Hashioka spent a loan spell at KAA Gent, making 17 appearances. Those numbers are modest, but his profile fits a clear Gladbach blueprint.

He is not just a right-back. He can slot into central defence and push higher up the right flank when required. For a squad suddenly light on that side of the pitch, that flexibility is gold. In a summer shaped by tight budgets and careful squad construction, a loan with an option to buy is exactly the kind of deal that allows Gladbach to cover themselves now without compromising later.

Uno eases into life at Gladbach

While Hashioka edges closer, Uno has already taken his first steps in a Gladbach shirt.

The 22-year-old defensive midfielder completed his first team training session on Tuesday. Coaches kept him mainly in drills with limited physical contact, a cautious introduction designed to build him up gradually before the intensity of the Tegernsee camp kicks in.

Head coach Eugen Polanski knows that understanding is as important as fitness. To bridge the language gap, the club have assigned interpreter Atsushi Waki to shadow Uno during tactical meetings and sessions.

“With a translator, we can ensure that our messages come across exactly as we intend them to,” Polanski explained. “We’re using this week to ease him into the workload so that, ideally, he’ll be able to participate fully at training camp.”

The plan is clear: get Uno up to speed, on and off the ball, before the serious work begins in Bavaria.

Busy schedule, busy market

On the pitch, the rhythm of pre-season is picking up. Gladbach face Hansa Rostock before heading to Rottach-Egern, where friendlies against local side FC Rottach-Egern and Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim await. Those games will offer early clues about how quickly the new pieces can be knitted together.

Off the pitch, the numbers tell the story of a club trying to reset smartly. Around €12.5 million has been invested in new arrivals, while sales have already generated about €21 million. The balance sheet looks healthy, and the squad is still not set.

Further departures are very much on the table. Nathan Ngoumou, Tomas Cvancara and Florian Neuhaus are among those repeatedly mentioned as potential exits. Any movement there could reshape Polanski’s options again before the window closes.

For now, though, the focus is on shoring up the right side. If Hashioka passes his medical and signs as expected, Gladbach’s Japanese contingent will double, their defensive options will deepen, and a pre-season scare at Rot-Weiss Essen will have been met with a decisive response.

Whether that response is enough to carry the Foals into the new Bundesliga campaign with renewed momentum will be answered not in the transfer room, but on the training pitches of Tegernsee and the friendlies that follow.