According to reports from Spain, Liverpool have enquired about the possibility of bring in a LaLiga winger as Mo Salah’s potential long-term successor at Anfield.
Monday’s print edition of Mundo Deportivo reported (via Paisley Gates) that the Reds are ‘asking’ to secure Takefusa Kubo from Real Sociedad, who are very reluctant to sell him this month amid additional interest from Juventus, Manchester United and Al-Nassr.
The 22-year-old has a €60m (£51.2m) release clause that suitors could activate, which’d then leave the ball in the player’s court, although it’s claimed that the Japanese forward – who’s currently away at the Asian Cup – would rather stay at the Anoeta.
Salah is currently under contract at Liverpool until 2025, although the shadow of potential Saudi Pro League transfer interest continues to loom over the 31-year-old, who’d been the subject of a £150m offer from Al-Ittihad last year (The Guardian).
Jamie O’Hara speculated that the Egyptian could be among the players to consider their futures at Anfield in the wake of Jurgen Klopp leaving at the end of this season, although that is merely conjecture at this point.
Kubo has six goals in 25 appearances for Real Sociedad so far this term, while his overall tally of 15 for the club is three fewer than the Reds’ number 11 has netted in the current campaign alone (Transfermarkt).
Those figures would suggest that the Japan winger may struggle to replicate the impact that Salah has made on Merseyside, although that could be argued for almost any player, such has been the 31-year-old’s excellence for LFC.
The possibility of a deal being done this week seems remote, especially with the forward away on international duty and uncertainty as to who Liverpool’s next manager will be, but a strong second half to the campaign for the San Sebastian-based player might catapult him near the top of the Anfield summer priority list.