Real Madrid loanee Takefusa Kubo is continuing to struggle to impose himself on Villarreal according to Diario AS.
The young Japanese has failed to provide much of an influence thus far in his spell at the club he joined on loan from the Santiago Bernabeu this past summer.
That’s not to say he’s not getting minutes. Kubo played close to an hour against Real Betis on Sunday but failed to impact proceedings much aside from one spectacular backheel.
Kubo has a goal and three assists to his name so far in his Villarreal career, both coming in the Europa League.
That’s the competition where coach Unai Emery is relying on the youngster the most, with Kubo starting all five games the Yellow Submarine have contested in it this season.
It’s different in La Liga. Villarreal paid €2.5m (plus another €2.5m in variables) as part of the loan agreement with Madrid, but Kubo has started just twice domestically, against Cadiz and Betis. He finished neither of those matches.
Speaking recently, Emery spoke about the need to show patience with Kubo’s development.
“There’s a lot of demand in his environment, but I’m more patient,” he said.
“We know he’s in the right position but we want more things from him and we’re working to achieve that. He needs to adapt to Villarreal and our demands.”
Featured image courtesy of FC Barcelona Noticias.
