Tatsuki Seko (瀬古 樹, Seko Tatsuki; born 22 December 1997) is a Japanese footballer who plays as defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club Stoke City.
Seko was born in Adachi, Tokyo and began playing football with the youth teams at Mitsubishi Yowa and in 2015 he was selected to play for the Japan national under-18 team and participated in a training camp.[2] He entered Meiji University in 2016 and was a regular with the football team from his fourth year.[3] In 2019 he rejected an offer from J2 League side Montedio Yamagata and later agreed to turn professional with Yokohama FC in 2020.[4] In August of the same year Seko was approved as a J.League designated special player.[5]
Seko officially joined Yokohama FC on 13 January 2020.[6] He made his J1 League debut on the opening day against Vissel Kobe, scoring in a 1–1 draw, which was Yokohama's first top-flight goal for 13 years.[7] Seko played 36 times in the 2020 J1 League season as relegation was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Yokohama finished in 15th place.[1][8] In the 2021 season Seko played 38 times as Yokohama were relegated finishing in 20th.[1][9]
Following Yokohama's relegation Seko was reported to be wanted by J1 League clubs Nagoya Grampus and Sanfrecce Hiroshima.[10] Eventually league champions Kawasaki Frontale signed Seko on 23 December 2021.[11] He made 19 appearances in the 2022 season as Kawasaki missed out on the league title by two points to Yokohama F. Marinos.[12] In the 2023 season, Seko played 39 times as Frontale finished in 8th position and won the 2023 Emperor's Cup after beating Kashiwa Reysol in the final on penalties.[13] Seko was captain as Kawasaki Frontale defeated Vissel Kobe 1–0 in the 2024 Japanese Super Cup.[14] It was announced by Frontale in August 2024 that Seko had left the team to complete a move abroad.[15]
Seko signed a three-year contract with EFL Championship club Stoke City on 30 August 2024.[16][17] Seko made 28 appearances in the 2024–25 season, as Stoke avoided relegation on the final day, finishing in 18th position.[18][19][20]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Contentinal | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Meiji University | 2019[1] | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Yokohama FC | 2020[1] | J1 League | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| 2021[1] | J1 League | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Total | 66 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 74 | 3 | |||
| Kawasaki Frontale | 2022[21] | J1 League | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 2023[22] | J1 League | 28 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 5 | |
| 2024[23] | J1 League | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[c] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
| Total | 66 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 93 | 7 | ||
| Stoke City | 2024–25[23] | EFL Championship | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26[24] | EFL Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 166 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 206 | 10 | ||
Kawasaki Frontale
