Liverpool’s attempts to sign Jude Bellingham last summer ultimately failed.
The Reds were considered one of the teams most likely to sign Bellingham as he wanted to leave Borussia Dortmund.
However, Bellingham decided to move to Real Madrid. Since then, the 20-year-old has been sensational.
Bellingham scored 19 goals on Madrid’s way to a brilliant La Liga win. The England international then crowned the season with his first Champions League title. He would have given everything at Anfield.
Although Bellingham’s efforts eventually earned him the La Liga Player of the Season award, there were other players in Spain who stood out, and in particular, some who caught the eye of Liverpool.
Liverpool’s long-time admirers of Takefusa Kubo
As Liverpool enter the summer transfer window, there are a few areas of the squad that require Arne Slot’s attention.
One – and perhaps most important – priority is to ensure that Liverpool have adequate cover at centre-back.
As ties to Leny Yoro grow stronger, it seems the Reds are making some progress on this particular mission.
The second position that Slot could strengthen is Liverpool’s attack, and there are plenty of rumours floating around about this as well. One name that Reds fans should keep an eye on seems to be Johan Bakayoko of PSV Eindhoven.
READ MORE: Five realistic wingers Liverpool could sign this summer
In addition to Bakayoko, Liverpool also seem to have a number of other players in their sights who could one day succeed Mohamed Salah on the right wing.
The brief for this was to be a tricky, fast, left-footed player. And according to the Spanish outlet Sports worldLiverpool believe Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo fits the bill.
Kubo had a good season for La Real, scoring seven goals in La Liga and helping them to sixth place. His efforts have reportedly attracted interest from four Premier League sides, including Liverpool, with the Reds said to have had their eye on the Japanese for “a long time”.
Tottenham are said to be one of the other teams interested in Kubo and are even reportedly ready to make a bid for the 23-year-old. Real are said to be demanding around £50 million to sell the striker.
Takefusa Kubo “as good as Jude Bellingham”
Kubo took La Liga by storm in the first weeks of the 2023/24 season. By the end of September, the Japanese international had scored five league goals. He only managed two more over the rest of the season.
However, it was in these opening games that Kubo was truly impressive. One man who knows La Liga well is player and current pundit Terry Gibson.
And speak on the El Tel & Jon’s weekly La Liga In his podcast, Gibson praised Kubo for his performance in Real Sociedad’s 2-1 loss to Real Madrid in September.
“As good as Jude Bellingham has been this year, I think Take Kubo has been at his level in every game he has played,” enthused the former Man United player.
Ryan Gravenberch was also recently said to be better than Bellingham. Perhaps Liverpool didn’t need Jude in the first place.
Keep an eye on this.
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