£50m forward DELIGHTED to give green light to Liverpool swap deal | OneFootball

Liverpool’s transfer campaign this summer has seen the club spend around £290m. And in an effort to balance the books, they have parted ways with plenty of talent.

However with Ben Doak joining Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz on the exit list - not to forget the tragic passing of Diogo Jota - it’s left the Reds somewhat light on attackers.

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Richard Hughes has completed deals for Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike but there is a suggestion that at least one more forward could be recruited this summer.

Alexander Isak is the priority with the club keen to add the Newcastle man as the new No9 at Anfield. But a wide forward could also be coming in - and the Reds have also been linked with high-calibre players like Rodrygo and Bradley Barcola.

Kubo keen on Liverpool move

One more face which is familiar to Liverpool recruiters is Takefusa Kubo. The 24-year-old Real Sociedad winger has been on the radar for a couple of seasons now.

A new report in Defensa Central now claims that the Japan international even gave his consent to a move to Liverpool as part of a convoluted swap deal involving Real Madrid.

“Real Madrid spoke with Real Sociedad after Liverpool showed some interest in the situation of Take Kubo a few weeks ago, a player whose rights the Merengues hold 50% and for whom the Blue and Whites are hoping to get 60 million euros (£52m),” the report reads.

“In fact, the white club even considered giving up the 25-30 million euros they would earn from selling the Japanese player, this being half of the transfer fee, in exchange for keeping Ibrahima Konaté.”

Madrid's Konate plan fails

So in effect it is claimed that: Liverpool approached Real Sociedad over Kubo and Real Madrid were willing to waive their share in any profits from the deal so long as Konate moved to the Bernabeu.

Kubo was described as “up for it”, believing a move to Anfield would be a significant step up in his career.

“This is something the Japanese footballer himself was aware of, and he would be delighted to leave San Sebastián for Liverpool, given the leap in quality it would bring to his career,” the report states.

However, this plan hit the buffers almost immediately.

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Kubo a Salah-type winger

Despite reportedly sounding out Sociedad over a deal for Kubo, Liverpool backed off quickly and have since cooled their interest.

They also wouldn’t want to lose Konate under any circumstances - even if an unofficial asking price of €50m has been floated in the Spanish media.

Kubo has made a good start to the LaLiga season - being one of Sociedad’s standout players in their opening day draw against Valencia.

The left-footer scored and was a constant menace besides. He is seen as a Mo Salah-type figure - cutting in from the right - and could certainly be a useful pick-up for the Reds in a remodelled attack.

However giving up Konate was seen by Liverpool as too big a price to pay.