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Over the previous two seasons, Real Madrid’s offense has been primarily relied on the talents of Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema, who developed an outstanding frontline tandem and led the club to another Champions League title in 2022.
However, Benzema’s departure in the summer limited the offense significantly, leaving them without a true striker. This was followed by Marco Asensio’s decision not to renew, as he moved to Paris Saint-Germain on a Bosman deal.
After signing Jude Bellingham for more than €100 million, Madrid chose not to spend huge money on a forward and instead brought in Joselu and Brahim Diaz to fill the responsibilities.
However, neither was anticipated to, nor has shown to, adequately plug the gaps, which means los blancos will likely scour the market for forwards in the winter and summer windows of 2024.
While the possibility of signing Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland remains, Mario Cortegana has revealed that Madrid is keeping a close eye on former striker Takefuso Kubo, who has been outstanding for Real Sociedad this season.
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According to the source, although Madrid is keeping eyes on the Japanese teenager, they have not had any contact with him, which might come back to haunt them if they attempt to recruit him again in the future.
Madrid paid €6.5 million for Kubo in the summer of 2022, but his contract includes 50% sell-on rights, which means Madrid will collect half of any future transfer money Sociedad receives from his sale.
Furthermore, they enjoy the right of first refusal in the transaction. If a club makes an offer for Kubo in the future, Madrid will have the option of matching it and will have first dibs on his sale.
However, since they have had no touch with him, reaching an agreement on personal terms may be difficult.
