Real Madrid: 5 players who could be the next big breakout star in 2022

RW Takefusa Kubo

The 20-year-old Takefusa Kubo is back in Mallorca after the club returned to LaLiga this season. An injury has prevented the Japanese international from showing the same spark for Mallorca in 2021-2022 as he did in 2019-2020, when he fought to become a regular starter in the second half of the season.

Kubo was a standout at the Olympics this summer, and that gave Madridistas hope that he would explode in the 2021-2022 season after a nondescript 2020-2021, spent as a rotational piece for two LaLiga clubs in Villarreal and Getafe.

So far this season, Kubo has made 10 total appearances in LaLiga, with barely over half of them being starts. In these 565 league minutes, Kubo has scored just once with no assists.

That said, the underlying numbers offer some encouragement. Kubo is putting up nearly two dribbles per 90 minutes to go with 1.6 key passes per 90. And the young attacking midfielder is fouled more than two times per game.

Tricky on the ball and creative with his passing in the final third, Kubo can be a world-class playmaker one day. But fulfilling this potential will not be easy. Kubo needs to be more assertive and more consistent. He is still lacking in the mental and physical aspects of the game, like most youngsters. Not everyone can be as advanced as Vinicius Junior or Rodrygo Goes, of course.

Kubo is just one “click” away from a truly massive year. We can all see it in him. Do not put it past him from having such a year in 2022, even if odds are he is still one or two years away from his lightbulb moment.