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Liverpool have reportedly stepped up their efforts to snap up Real Sociedad midfielder Takefusa Kubo. The 23-year-old has had a decent spell at the La Liga club.
Kubo is coming off a decent 2023-24 season, contributing seven goals and five assists in 41 games across competitions. Most of those goal contributions - seven goals and four assists in 30 games - expectedly came in the league, where Sociedad finished sixth.
Despite being contracted to the Reale Arena till 2029, Kubo has attracted interest from the Reds. As per Diario AS (via LFC Transfer Room), the Premier League giants are open to triggering the Sociedad player's release clause of €50 million as they seem intent to snap him up.
The diminutive Japanese spent part of his youth days at Barcelona and was briefly on the pay roll of Real Madrid but never turned up for first-team duties for either of the two La Liga powerhouses.
Meanwhile, new Reds manager Arne Slot - arriving from Feyenoord - has succeeded longstanding tactician Jurgen Klopp - who left at the end of the last season citing burnout.
How Liverpool fared last season?
Liverpool had a decent 2023-24 season, which turned out to be their last under legendary manager Jurgen Klopp. The Reds were briefly in contention for an unprecedented quadruple, leading the Premier League at the turn of the year before running out of steam.
The Anfield side did strike gold in the EFL Cup, beating Chelsea 1-0 in extra time, which eventually turned out to be their only title of the year. They finished third in the Premier League, behind Manchester City and Arsenal.
Meanwhile, they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by the eventual winners in two other competitions. The Reds lost 3-1 on aggregate to Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League, with a 3-0 first-leg deficit from the home leg eventually proving insurmountable.
In the FA Cup, they fell 4-3 in extra time at Manchester United, having won the competition two years earlier.
