Real Madrid told to pay €60m to re-sign Kubo

James Shearman

Updated: 16 Feb 2023 13:06 CST
3 min read

Real Madrid could target former youth star Takefusa Kubo in the transfer window.

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Kubo, once labelled the 'Japanese Messi', was touted to become a world-beater at the Santiago Bernabeu.

But after a number of uninspiring loans at fellow La Liga sides Mallorca, Getafe and Villarreal, Real decided to sell him last summer.

Madrid sold Kubo for €6.5 million to Real Sociedad, having never played a senior game for Los Blancos.

But Angel Lopez of Mundo Deportivo thinks the 21-year-old's former club should look to resign him.

Kubo has four La Liga goals for Sociedad this season, calling into question whether Madrid gave up on him too soon.

Asensio to leave Real?

Manchester United lead a host of clubs keeping tabs on Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio, who is out of contract at the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season.

Asensio is set to be become one of the most in-demand free agents in the game come June, having failed to agree terms on a fresh contract during a season in which he has only made six La Liga starts.

Primarily a right winger, the left footer has fallen behind Federico Valverde and Rodrygo in the pecking order.

"He looks good to me, so I don't know if he stays or not," said head coach Carlo Ancelotti ahead of his side's trip to Osasuna on Saturday.

☀️⚽️#RMCity pic.twitter.com/4lY9YOT9fA
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) February 16, 2023

"Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. I don't care much. We have some important challenges this season. The most important thing is that he contributes like last year.

"Let him continue as he is doing now. Then the club makes the most appropriate decision in the end."

Asensio boasts 53 goals and 29 assists from his 262 games for Real since swapping his native Mallorca for the Spanish capital in a €3.5 million deal in the summer of 2015.

He has also won the Champions League three times, and is now valued at €23m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, making him a bargain for United or any other suitor who might sign him for free next summer.

Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are all also out of contract at the Bernabeu next summer, but each of them are more likely to be offered fresh terms than Asensio.