Real Madrid: Could Takefusa Kubo move to a different La Liga club this winter?

Real Madrid attacking midfielder Takefusa Kubo hasn’t played enough in La Liga this season while at Villarreal.

There are two loan situations Real Madrid will have to ponder carefully this winter. Attacking midfielder Reinier Jesus has almost never played for Borussia Dortmund this season and is a candidate to receive a new loan this winter. And the same can be said for Takefusa Kubo, though he has played regularly in the Europa League and also has more league minutes than Reinier.

Kubo is reportedly not happy with his lack of La Liga minutes under Unai Emery and is considering leaving in January to a club in the league that can provide him with more playing time.

The Yellow Submarine sat in third place in La Liga after 10 Matchdays, having drawn with Real Madrid 1-1 the previous week. Kubo played in that match, but he was substituted into the game. He has played a substitute role in La Liga despite having three assists in the Europa League as the team’s most impressive player in that competition.

Villarreal convinced Los Blancos to loan Kubo to them ahead of interest from other clubs around Europe. Real Sociedad, Real Betis, Sevilla, Granada, Osasuna, and other La Liga clubs were heavily interested, and it seemed like Betis were the favorites before Kubo joined Villarreal.

And now according to Estadio Deportivo, Real Betis remain interested in Takefusa Kubo and have “not ruled out” making a play for the Japanese international this winter if Real and Villarreal were to terminate their loan agreement.

Estadio Deportivo names a couple of barriers to the deal, which are expected. There will be other teams interested in Kubo. Betis must find a way to afford Kubo’s wages during this extremely trying economic time. And thirdly, Los Verdiblancos must also pay a loan fee to Real Madrid for a player of Kubo’s caliber.

There’s no guarantee Kubo gets sufficient minutes at the Benito Villamarin either, considering they also have quality players like Sergio Canales and Nabil Fekir. They are also not in the Europa League. Sociedad, on the other hand, can give Kubo European football, and Real Madrid would be more likely to trust them with a loan, seeing how well Martin Odegaard played in San Sebastian last season.

Betis are a team to think about, though, with Manuel Pellegrini at the helm and heavy interest in Kubo. It seems like they understand how brilliant of a player Kubo is. He’s already one of La Liga’s top playmakers.