‘Japanese Messi’ Takefusa Kubo Has Made A Lasting Impression On Real Madrid's Coaching Staff

Real Madrid new boy Takefusa Kubo has made a lasting impression on the club's staff in such a short space of time, according to stunning reports in Spain.

The Spanish club snapped up the highly rated teenager, dubbed the 'Japanese Messi,' from FC Tokyo for £1.78m (€2m) and he will play for Real Madrid Castilla next season.

But Kubo, 18, could find himself featuring in Zinedine Zidane's first-team squad much sooner than expected.

Spanish newspaper Diario AS claims that the Japan international has received warm approval from the Madrid coaching staff since his arrival.

And he could be promoted to some first-team appearances should he continue to impress in the new season.

Kubo has travelled with the Madrid squad to Montreal for their pre-season training camp and has been working well alongside the senior players.

According to AS, the Madrid dressing room agreed that the former Barcelona youth product is 'not out of place.'

Footage from training has backed up that claim as Kubo linked up effectively well with Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos.

La Masia director Jose Bakero said that he wanted to keep Kubo at the Camp Nou, but the club were unable to secure him a spot in the senior team.

"We wanted to sign Takefusa Kubo since two years ago, but six or seven months ago we saw that there were difficulties," he told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

"His signing was an economic issue and a matter of a guaranteed spot in the first team, something we never guarantee anyone.

"Takefusa Kubo is a player with great qualities, very good, but in the 4-3-3 of Barca, he would have a very big tactical difficulty, which is something that must also be evaluated.

"Through the follow-up to Take's move to Real Madrid, Japanese football has been tracked, because there are many more interesting players. We have followed four or five high-level players."

Will Kubo be a hit at Madrid?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Los Blancos, Football News, Football, Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid, La Liga

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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