Winger Takefusa Kubo could be the Real Sociedad player who Inter Milan must really watch out for in tomorrow evening’s Champions League group stage opener.
Today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews, name the 22-year-old Japanese international as a potential danger man.
Inter and Real Sociedad will both kick of their Champions League campaigns in earnest tomorrow.
The Nerazzurri do so as last season’s semifinalists, hoping to repeat or even improve that run.
And La Real are back in Europe’s top club competition for the first time in a decade. They earned their place in the group stage with an eye-catching fourth place finish in last season’s La Liga table.
And a player who was key to La Real’s success last season was Kubo, who signed for the club last summer.
Takefusa Kubo Could Be The Key Danger Man For Inter Milan
Kubo is a player who joined Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2019.
He had previously had a spell in the youth academy of Real’s fellow Spanish giants Barcelona.
There were big expectations around Kubo, long considered to be one of the top talents in Japanese football for his generation.
However, the Japanese international never made a real impact for Los Blancos’ first team.
Kubo got his chances in loan spells with the likes of Mallorac, Villarreal, and Getafe. These showed flashes of what he was capable of, though not his best form.
But then, Kubo’s form for Mallorca on loan in the 2021-22 season saw the young winger finally start to really put everything together on a consistent basis.
This convinced La Real to buy Kubo from Real Madrid. And this has proven to be a shrewd acquisition.
Last season, the Japanese scored nine goals for La Real as he featured regularly for Imanol Alguacil’s side.
And Kubo has started this campaign in similar form. The 22-year-old has found the back of the net three times in just five matches.
And it was Kubo’s inch-perfect through-ball that set up Ander Barrenetxea’s opening goal against Real Madrid.
La Real went on to lose that match 2-1. But from Kubo, it was a moment, and a performance, to put Inter on notice.