He grew up in the Barcelona cantera and worked for FC Tokyo before joining Real Madrid. After a spell on loan at Villarreal, Getafe and Mallorca, he joined Real Sociedad on a permanent basis, with a number of strong clubs keen on Japan midfielder Takefusa Kubo, who has had little success in the Spanish capital.
Interest from the Premier League is particularly strong, with Manchester United and Liverpool looking to strengthen their attacking line-up. And Tottenham Hotspur, also in England, have taken the lead.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the North London club made a £50 million offer for the player, but Real Sociedad rejected the offer. In addition, Liverpool and Manchester United are also understood to have carried out enquiries.
With 16 goals and 14 assists in 85 games for Real Arena, the Japanese midfielder has earned his place as one of Europe’s most promising right wingers, with experience in the Champions League and Europa League, and at 23 years of age, he has great potential for further development.
All three of the above clubs are short of right wingers and have begun to strengthen the position in the summer transfer window. Tottenham are said to be particularly interested and are willing to make a second offer.
The young attacking midfielder, who has scored four goals in 35 appearances for Japan, is likely to stay in Spain, but will he ever land in England?