Leeds United, Takefusa Kubo and the Way of the Samurai

There’s a famous video of Harvey Price on socials where he exclaims “what a day”, and at the moment, I know exactly how he feels. I feel like I need to leave out a huge sigh, and I’d appreciate it if you’d all join me. You see, David Ornstein chose Friday of all days to smash not one, but two of my transfer dreams. Early on Friday he announced that Newcastle were exploring a deal for my number one goalkeeper target James Trafford. And if that wasn’t bad enough, just as Canada were securing a point in their opening World Cup game against Bosnia, Ornstein dropped another bombshell that Arsenal were exploring a deal for winger Christos Tzolis. My heart can only take so much. 

• Ismael Saibari to Bayern Munich
• James Trafford to Newcastle United
• Christos Tzolis to Arsenal

On the plus side, my scouting is proving to be ambitious. On the negative side, at this rate, I’m beginning to think I’m cursed. Damn you Danhausen! 

Thankfully, world football still contains plenty of attacking players capable of getting me irrationally excited. And with Tzolis seemingly destined for North London, it gives me another opportunity to disappear down a football rabbit hole, spend far too many hours researching a player, write several thousand words about him, and then watch him sign for somebody else. That’s the beauty of the transfer window…and I promise I’m not saying that through gritted teeth, and tears. 

“The Japanese Messi”: Takefusa Kubo

Last summer, this one may have been a bit more of a “stretch target”. Takefusa Kubo was a player that you could argue Leeds United needed. One year on, and with this club progressing rapidly, it might just be that Kubo needs Leeds United.

Kubo is an odd one because he isn’t the fastest winger in the world. He’s not going to bully defenders. He doesn’t put up wild numbers for goals and assists. He isn’t constantly producing moments that end up plastered across social media. If you’re looking for the next Christos Tzolis or Ismael Saibari, you’ll probably come away slightly underwhelmed.

Then you watch him against Atlético Madrid. Against Villarreal. Against Barcelona. Suddenly he’s popping up everywhere. Taking the ball in tight spaces. Escaping pressure. Linking play. Dragging defenders out of position. Helping his team move thirty yards up the pitch without anybody really noticing he’s done it. 

The “Japanese Messi” label that followed him around as a teenager probably hasn’t helped him. As Leeds fans found out with the “Medford Messi”, a nickname like this only encourages people to judge you against a player nobody in football history can realistically be compared to. Kubo was never going to be that. He isn’t a one-man attack and he isn’t the sort of winger who spends ninety minutes trying to humiliate full-backs. At his best, Kubo knits attacks together. He gives midfielders an option. He creates angles where there shouldn’t be any. He helps his side progress the ball. He speeds attacks up when they need speeding up and slows them down when they need control. Most importantly, he makes difficult things look easy, which is usually the sign of a very good player.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns. The numbers have dipped. 

According to FotMob:

2025/26 La Liga Season – Real Sociedad 

• 2 goals (162nd overall)
• 4 assists (50th overall)
• 7.05 FotMob rating (59th overall)
• 1508 minutes (236th overall)
• 32 chances created (52nd overall)
• 7 big chances created (52nd overall)
• 2.20 successful dribbles per 90 (17th overall)

Are these the stats of a player that Leeds should be breaking the bank for?

The injuries are also becoming a more regular talking point, with Kubo missing 14 games last season with a recurring hamstring issue.

And if Real Sociedad were willing to sell, the fee would be substantial. In fact, Leeds found that he was too expensive last summer.

Those are genuine concerns rather than minor footnotes. AS described it as his most difficult season since joining Real Sociedad, noting injuries, public frustration, and a drop in output. Unfortunately, Leeds would not be buying the 2022/23 breakout version. They would be buying a very talented player whose value has probably cooled slightly because the last year has been uneven.

Ultimately, the question isn’t whether Kubo can play. The question is whether he’s good enough to justify the sort of money, expectation and scrutiny that inevitably comes with a Premier League move.

PHYSICAL PROFILE

Let’s address the elephant in the room immediately. Kubo is not physically imposing.

He’s around 5’8” and absolutely nobody is signing him because they think he’s going to bully Premier League defenders. If anything, his physical profile is probably the biggest reason some supporters would immediately dismiss the idea of signing him.

You can already imagine the comments.

“Too lightweight.”

“Won’t cope physically.”

“Needs more pace.”

Some of those concerns are fair. Some aren’t.

The reality is that Kubo survives through balance and agility rather than power. The good folks over at Sports Interactive acknowledge this with Kubo having a 15/20 rating for both attributes in Football Manager 2026. 

He isn’t somebody who is going to constantly win physical battles. He’ll avoid them by trying to receive the ball on the half-turn. Before the defender can get to him, he’s already gone, creating separation before contact ever arrives.

That’s an important distinction because there is a huge difference between a player who loses physical battles and a player who simply refuses to engage in them.

Yes the Premier League can be brutal. The pace is higher. The transitions are quicker. The contact is heavier. The refs are worse. But Kubo has already built a pretty decent career avoiding challenges up until this point. 

ATHLETICISM

This is where expectations need to be managed. Kubo isn’t slow. But he isn’t frighteningly quick either. If you’re expecting Dan James, you’re going to be disappointed. His game isn’t built around acceleration. It’s built around anticipation. Everything happens a split second earlier than you’d expect.

I remember being in my late teens watching the Champions League in the pub with friends. One of them told us to ignore the ball and just watch Modrić for a few minutes. Kubo reminds me of that lesson. Watch him closely and you start noticing little things. He checks his shoulder constantly. He knows where the pressure is coming from before he receives the ball. Half the time he’s already decided what he’s doing before the pass arrives.

That sounds stupid until you watch him repeatedly receive possession in situations where most players would lose the ball. We’ve seen it with Tanaka who is gifted technically. Kubo is from a similar football schooling. 

The first touch is usually excellent. The awareness is usually excellent. And suddenly the pressure disappears. Not because he’s outrun anybody. Because he recognised it first.

CREATIVE PROFILE

Kubo is not a winger who relies on crosses but is much more useful when he is allowed to come inside and play between lines. That is probably why he would appeal to Leeds if they wanted more subtlety from the right side, especially against teams who sit deeper and force you to create in tighter spaces. Leeds have generally moved away from traditional wingers since the fabled formation change at half time against Man City. Instead, we have opted for two players sat behind Calvert-Lewin (usually Okafor and Aaronson). Given license to pick up the ball in these spaces might suit a player of Kubo’s quality more. 

BALL CARRYING

One thing that surprised me while researching Kubo was how often people on Reddit, who like all of those spoken to for this article, unless otherwise noted, spoke under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, describe him as a “decent” dribbler.

He’s a good dribbler. A very good one, in fact. But what stands out isn’t necessarily the number of defenders he beats. People see a player like Kubo, a small technical player, and assume he’s some sort of dribbling machine. That’s not really the case. He carries the ball well, but there’s usually a reason for it. Sometimes that’s a pass. Sometimes it’s a shot. Sometimes it’s creating space for an overlapping runner. People hear “technical winger” and expect endless stepovers. That’s not really Kubo. Half the time he’s creating space with a feint, a body shape, or a clever first touch rather than dropping the shoulder and actually skinning somebody.

DRIBBLING 

Kubo’s dribbling is clever rather than brutal. He doesn’t have Saibari’s power or Paixão’s pure chaos, but he changes direction beautifully and uses his body extremely well for a smaller player. His best work often comes when he receives with a defender tight to him and somehow comes out the other side with the attack suddenly moving forward.

The fan reaction to some of his best goals backs that up. After his goal against Villarreal in January 2025, supporters on r/soccer described the action as “Messi-esque dribbling” and praised the instinctive pass before it. 

GOAL THREAT

The Japanese are regularly known for their respectful culture. And Kubo fits the bill. If the pass is on, he’ll play it. If the overlap is available, he’ll use it. If retaining possession is the correct option, he’ll happily recycle the attack. And I found that that’s one of the reasons some supporters become frustrated with him. There are games where you find yourself wishing he’d be more selfish. There are moments where you want him to shoot. The criticism I found of the player wasn’t usually that he lacked quality. It was that he sometimes looked too eager to create rather than finish himself.

There are comments from fans around his Midtjylland goal suggesting he should shoot more often, with one supporter noting he is more “pass first, shoot second”.  That is probably fair. Kubo can threaten goal, but his first instinct is often to combine or create rather than attack the finish himself. This is great if the option is available, but Leeds need more of a goal threat from the right hand side. 

REAL SOCIEDAD CONTEXT

One thing that gets lost in discussions about Kubo is the environment he’s been playing in. Real Sociedad are not Real Madrid. They are not Barcelona. Although Kubo was on the books of both clubs once upon a time. 

Sociedad are not a side dominating possession every week and creating chance after chance. For much of Kubo’s time in San Sebastián, Sociedad have been a well-coached, tactically disciplined side that rely heavily on structure, organisation and collective responsibility. The reality is that Kubo often finds himself doing jobs that don’t show up particularly well on highlight reels. Great for managers, not so good for fantasists.

This is context because creative players are often judged purely on output without considering the environment around them. If you dropped Kubo into Manchester City’s attack over the last three years, do his numbers improve? Almost certainly. Would they improve enough to completely change how people view him? Probably. That doesn’t mean he is secretly a world-class player being held back by his teammates. But it does mean context matters. A lot. Because the reality is, Sociedad finished La Liga in 10th place, and only 4 points outside the relegation zone. So looking at stats alone doesn’t paint the entire picture of Kubo’s contribution to the team. 

MATCH EVIDENCE

His best 2025/26 statistical performances so far appear to be:

Real Sociedad 1-1 Atlético Madrid — January 2026

FotMob gave Kubo an 8.5 rating, with an assist in 89 minutes. That is exactly the type of game that matters when judging him because Atlético are not an open, naive side who give attackers easy space. If Kubo can still create against that kind of defensive structure, it tells you more than him padding numbers against weaker opposition.  

Getafe 1-2 Real Sociedad — January 2026

He followed that with another assist and an 8.3 rating away at Getafe. Again, not glamorous, but useful evidence. Getafe matches are usually horrible for attacking players. Physical, broken, stop-start, uncomfortable. If a wide creator can still influence those games, it matters.  

INJURY RECORD

This is the part Leeds would need to take seriously.

Kubo’s 2025/26 has not been good. I mentioned earlier that he has missed 14 games through injury this season, and question marks remain as to whether he has fully recovered. AS reported that Real Sociedad confirmed a hamstring injury in his left leg after after he was stretchered off against Barcelona in January. Anything to do with the hamstring and wingers always terrifies me. For some reason, I always associate that position and that injury with constant reoccurrence.

On top of the hamstring issue, AS previously described this campaign as one where Kubo had dealt with ankle issues, frustration and reduced output. That does not make him injury-prone in the same way as some players, but it does mean Leeds should not view him as a completely clean physical profile.

Leeds’ medical department has been fantastic since the 49ers have taken control and I give full credit to Henry McStay and his team. Leeds’ would need to complete a thorough check on the player and assess whether the money is worth the risk. 

DEFENSIVE WORK

Kubo has played for a Real Sociedad side that has generally been tactically demanding without the ball. He is not a passenger. He understands pressing angles, contributes to structure and works back more than many technical wide players. He is not Dan James. He is not a pure running machine. But he is not lazy. For Leeds, he would probably need to adapt to the physicality of Premier League pressing, but tactically he should understand the demands quickly.

FAN OPINION

Fan opinion on Kubo is mixed in the way it often is with creative players. When he is playing well, he looks like Sociedad’s most gifted attacker. Fans love the balance, the close control and the moments where he seems to create space from nothing.

When he is not producing, frustration builds because the talent is so obvious. Some online reaction around his goals has praised the technical quality, while other comments have pointed out that he sometimes appears pass-first when supporters want him to shoot more. That feels like a fair summary of the player. Brilliantly gifted, occasionally too nice, sometimes needing to be more ruthless.  

FINANCIAL CONTEXT

A realistic Leeds conversation probably starts somewhere around £25-£30m if Sociedad are genuinely open to selling. But if Real Sociedad hold firm because of the contract length, the price could easily move closer to £40m+. That is the key issue.

At £25m, he is interesting.

At £30m, doubt sets in.

At £40m, Leeds should walk away.

Not because he is not good.

Because the end product does not justify that kind of outlay unless you are absolutely convinced he becomes the creative centrepiece of the attack. And I’m not there yet. 

STRENGTHS

• Excellent first touch and close control
• Creates chances consistently
• Very good in tight spaces
• Intelligent movement and decision-making
• Technically secure under pressure
• Works hard defensively
• Proven in La Liga over multiple seasons

WEAKNESSES

• Doesn’t score enough goals
• Can be too unselfish at times
• Lacks explosive pace
• Not physically dominant
• Injury concerns beginning to emerge
• Transfer fee may outweigh the output

BEST ROLE AT LEEDS

His best role would be as an inverted right-sided attacker. Not touchline winger. Not central 10 every week. Not second striker. Right side, left foot, freedom to drift.

He needs an overlapping full-back like Bogle outside him, runners inside him and a striker who attacks the spaces his passes create. That would allow him to do what he does best: create problems through movement, angles and technique rather than raw pace.

CURRENT LEVEL

He’s a good La Liga attacking player, but not yet elite. He’s not a superstar. He’s not a guaranteed top-six Premier League starter. He’s not carrying teams on his own, but he’s good enough to improve most sides in Europe. He’s a player who could improve the technical level of an ambitious Premier League side.

CEILING

If he can stay fit and rediscover the form he showed a couple of years ago, there’s no reason he couldn’t play for a side competing regularly in Europe. Whether that’s Leeds United or somebody else is another question entirely.

FLOOR

There’s a version of this where Kubo remains a lovely footballer to watch but never quite delivers the goals and assists people expect from a player of his ability.

OVERALL LEEDS VERDICT

Kubo is a much more realistic target this summer one sense, but probably one who is still complicated financially.

Kubo isn’t the sort of player who wins you over in a sprint race. He wins you over twenty minutes into a match when you realise everything good seems to be going through him. He would not arrive and blow people away physically. He would not give Leeds a winger who terrifies defenders through pure speed. But he would immediately raise the technical level of the attack. The concern is price. If Sociedad’s valuation softens after an uneven, injury-interrupted season, Leeds should absolutely look. If the fee stays at elite-winger money, we should walk away. Because Kubo is very good. But he is not the sort of player Leeds should overpay for blindly.

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