Struggling Nagoya Grampus are to bolster their attack in a bid to stave off relegation with the signing of striker Kengo Kawamata from Albirex Niigata, the club’s general manager Kazumasa Kume said Tuesday.

Kawamata finished second in the J. League top flight scoring charts with 23 goals last season and was on the fringes of the Japan national team before the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

He will join Grampus on a 2½-year contract and is scheduled to be unveiled by the club at a news conference on Thursday.

“I told him (Kawamata) I want him to rescue Nagoya,” said Kume. “He is a player that from now on can carry Japan forward.”