Takefusa Kubo becomes the latest youngster seeking to make a name for himself elsewhere. Here AS assesses how some of those who have gone before him have fared.
Real Madrid has always been characterized as a club that has stuck to a policy of loaning out talented young players rather than selling them on quickly.
Many young players have performed successfully at their respective temporary clubs before returning to find themselves a new role at the Santiago Bernabéu – while others, of course, have not had such fortune.
Now, Japanese starlet Takefusa Kubo will become the latest young Real Madrid player seeking to make a name for himself elsewhere before returning to Madrid. Here AS assesses how some of those who have gone before him have fared.
Carvajal, Asensio, Lucas
Whenever Madrid chooses to loan out a player, the idea is that he finds valuable game time, generally, at a mid-table LaLiga club. A good example of this is Espanyol, where Marco Asensio and Lucas shone during their respective periods at the RCDE Stadium.
While it is more uncommon, some players have successfully tried their fortunes abroad. Both Dani Carvajal (Bayer Leverkusen) and Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund) have confirmed that foreign leagues such as the Bundesliga are good destinations for players to gain confidence and experience.
Theo, Lucas Silva, Coentrao, Lunin
Madrid has also seen other examples of players that, due to various circumstances, have not worked out. Theo Hernandez and Borja Mayoral are good examples: both players did not get the necessary minutes to return and be the players they had shown themselves to be years before.
A different example is that of Martin Odegaard (now at Real Sociedad). It is true that his performance last season at Vitesse was remarkable, but his two previous stint at Heerenveen had not been so successful.
Aindry Lunin's time at Leganés was similar, although he had even less prominence with a total of 360 minutes. But undoubtedly the assignments of Fabio Coentrao to Sporting Lisbon and Lucas Silva to Olympique Marseille were two operations that yielded some of the worst results for Madrid.
Kubo
Now it is Kubo’s time to prove himself. The young Japanese midfielder has all that it takes to have a great season at Mallorca and may even face Real Madrid, now that the club has reportedly eliminated the ‘fear clause', the controversial policy of not allowing players loaned to other teams in Spain to play against them.