Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo appears to be edging closer to a move to Anfield this summer as his agents reportedly jet in for a crunch meeting with club officials.
The Japanese international has been strongly linked with becoming Arne Slot's first signing as Liverpool boss amid reports the Reds are willing to offer $71million (£55million/€65million) for the 23-year-old's services. With doubts over the long-term future of Mohamed Salah , Kubo is seen as the perfect replacement.
And although there may still be plenty of negotiations to take place with the La Liga outfit, Kubo may well have already made up his own mind on playing for Liverpool, judging by some of his previous comments on the club.
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In an interview with Goal in 2019 following his move to Real Madrid , Kubo described the Reds as "awesome" when asked to name some of his favourite European sides - a comment which is sure to get Reds fans even more excited ahead of his proposed move to Merseyside.
“The team I think play the most interesting football is Liverpool," Kubo said. "I feel they are awesome when I watch their games. It’s not really to say they are my favourite, but more like awesome.”
The re-emergence of those comments comes amid reports that Kubo's agents have flown in to Liverpool for crunch meetings with the Reds hierarchy, with CEO of Football Michael Edwards desperate to secure the first signing of the Slot era.
Sponichi, a Japanese news outlet, reports that negotiations for Kubo are now nearing completion following his agents' visit to England, with Liverpool prepared to splash the cash to get their man . It's added that the Reds are also willing to offer an eye-watering salary of around $310k (£240k/€285k) to get the deal over the line.
However, it's thought this may be a little far-fetched, with those wages putting Kubo on more than everyone at Liverpool aside from Mohamed Salah, which would be an uncharacteristic move from the Reds, to say the least.
But like Salah, Kubo operates as a left-footed right winger and would be the ideal replacement for the long-serving Egyptian. Dubbed the "Japanese Messi", Kubo has 16 goals and 14 assists in 85 appearances across all competitions for Real Sociedad and was instrumental in their return to the Champions League for the 2023-24 campaign, their first appearance in the competition for nine years.
Kubo is credited with being a fast, skilful right winger who can become a "football superstar" according to one of Mallorca's former executives, who praised the Japanese for his vision and intelligence on the pitch in a previous interview with the Daily Mail .
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