Real Madrid: The young player they believe in the most

Real Madrid have a handful of excellent young players who could become among the world’s best, but there is one player they reportedly value above the rest.

Over the past couple of years, Real Madrid have made it a priority to sign young talent over established stars. They made one marquee signing in 2019 when they paid 100 million euros to add Eden Hazard from Chelsea, but most of their other transfers have been for up-and-coming players like Rodrygo Goes, Takefusa Kubo, Vinicius Junior, Luka Jovic, and Eder Militao.

The vast majority of those young players are doing well, either for Real’s first team or on loan. Rodrygo and Vini have had their moments in the Madrid attack, Militao has been great in a few games this year at center back, and Kubo is having a field day in the Europa League for one of La Liga’s top teams in 2020-2021.

According to MARCA’s Jose Felix Diaz, Takefusa Kubo is the player that Real Madrid “have the most faith in” among their young stars.

It’s a huge endorsement of Kubo’s potential, because Rodrygo and Vinicius are both excellent. Vini has shined in a Clasico and Derbi this season, while Rodrygo is one of the fastest-scoring debutants in Real Madrid history and one of the most prolific young players in Champions League history.

But Kubo’s potential is enormous. He was easily Mallorca’s best player last season despite his lack of playing time, showing an eye to contribute goals and dazzling dribbling ability. This season at Villarreal, Kubo has found it difficult to crack Unai Emery’s starting XI in La Liga, but he is the team’s top performer in the Europa League with one goal and three assists. The quality of his passing in the Europa League has been tremendous.

Real Madrid fans should be excited about Kubo’s future. Hopefully, he receives more playing time as the 2020-2021 season continues, because he’s only had 174 minutes in La Liga. When he has been on the pitch in league matches, though, Kubo has shown a high level of chance-creation and incisive dribbling. Those are two traits Real could definitely use in the future, and the prospect of having both Kubo and Martin Odegaard in the next decade is tantalizing indeed.