SC Freiburg have signed striker Keisuke Goto from Anderlecht, with the German club paying a reported fee of around €10 million for the 21-year-old. The move was confirmed on 11 June 2026, with the Bundesliga club not officially disclosing the exact figure but German media reporting a fee in that region.
Freiburg moved for Goto on the back of an outstanding loan season at fellow Belgian top-flight club Sint-Truiden, where he scored 10 goals and added five assists in 28 league appearances during 2025-26. Board member Jochen Saier said the club had signed "an exciting player with interesting qualities", praising his "bold style of play" and pointing to his instinct for attacking space and finishing in the penalty area. Goto himself said Freiburg's interest went back months and that he felt genuinely wanted by the club, which he cited as a key reason for choosing them.
For Anderlecht, it means losing a forward they only handed a permanent contract to in December 2024, having first brought him in from Japanese club Jubilo Iwata. Goto never really nailed down a regular starting role in the first team in Belgium, managing three goals in ten appearances for the senior side, but he showed his quality at reserve level with 13 goals in 31 games for RSCA Futures before his loan move paid off. Anderlecht wished him well publicly as the transfer went through, banking a healthy fee for a player who had spent much of his time on loan.
Goto's recent form is what convinced Freiburg to move. His breakout loan season at Sint-Truiden marked him out as one of the more productive young forwards in the Belgian top flight, and that form has carried over into his international career: he has been capped by Japan and was included in the country's squad for the 2026 World Cup, making him one of the youngest players involved in the tournament.
At Freiburg, Goto arrives as an attacking option who can offer something different to the club's existing forwards, Igor Matanović and Lucas Höler. His profile — a physically imposing striker at 6ft 3in who likes to run in behind and get on the end of moves in the box — fits the direct, high-energy style Freiburg have built their recent Bundesliga and European Cup competitiveness on. He is Freiburg's third summer signing and the second Japanese player to join the club this window, following the arrival of a team-mate from his own loan spell at Sint-Truiden.
With pre-season now under way, the question for Freiburg is how quickly Goto can adapt to Bundesliga football after primarily featuring in the Belgian second tier and on loan. He arrives with plenty of promise but limited senior top-flight minutes, so his early game time and goal involvements will be worth tracking as the new season begins.