Another Martin Odegaard? €60m star ‘open to joining' Gunners after Real Madrid dumped him for just €6m

Arsenal are ready to make a huge bid for a winger that Real Madrid sold for a bargain price, according to a report, which has revealed that the star is ready to move to the Emirates Stadium, as previous comments from Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo backing him to replace Mohamed Salah at Anfield come to light.

After missing out on the Premier League title to Liverpool last season, Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta and manager Mikel Arteta splashed the cash in the summer transfer window and made eight major signings, including Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP and Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace.

Arsenal’s start to the 2025/26 campaign has been positive, too, with the north London club currently sitting second in the Premier League table with 10 points from five games.

The Gunners also beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 away from home in the opening game of the Champions League last week.

However, Arsenal are reportedly on the hunt for more players and are ready to make a big offer for Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo in the January transfer window.

According to Fichajes, Arsenal have ‘the intention of making an offer close to €45million (£39m, $53.1m)’ for Kubo when the transfer window reopens in January, even though the Japan international winger’s release clause in his contract at Sociedad is €60m (£52.5m, $71m).

The report has further claimed that ‘Kubo would be open to joining Arsenal’ because he knows that leaving La Real for the Gunners would be ‘a career advancement’.

Kubo is a former Real Madrid winger who was on the books of Los Blancos from 2019 until 2022.

However, the winger failed to make a single appearance for the Madrid first team, and after loan spells at Real Mallorca, Villarreal and Getafe, joined Sociedad on a permanent contract in 2022 for just €6m (£5.2m, $7.1m)

At Sociedad, Kubo has established himself as one of the best wingers in LaLiga, scoring 24 goals and giving 18 assists in 142 appearances for the Spanish club so far in his career.

The 26-year-old’s trajectory is similar to Martin Odegaard, who was expected to become a Real Madrid superstar but failed to make a huge impact at the Santiago Bernabeu.

An impressive loan spell at Arsenal in 2021 was followed by a permanent deal, and Odegaard has since gone from strength to strength, established himself as one of the best playmakers in Europe and is still only 26.

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Takefusa Kubo backed to become Mo Salah’s successor at Liverpool

Given that Arsenal signed Noni Madueke from Chelsea in the summer transfer window to play as a backup to Bukayo Saka, one would normally question this report that the north London club are ready to go big for Kubo in January, especially as Fichajes is not one of the most reliable news outlets.

Sources have told TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, that Arsenal will not hesitate to splash the cash in the middle of the season if Berta and Arteta find a player who they believe will win them the Premier League title.

Kubo could well be that player if Madueke fails to perform well in the coming weeks, but for now, the former Tottenham Hotspur prospect is doing well for the Gunners.

Although the 23-year-old England international winger suffered a knee injury against Manchester City in the Premier League last weekend, according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, that will keep Madueke out of action for around two months.

Kubo, though, is a hugely exciting player who has been backed to become a global star in the future and has also been tipped to succeed Mohamed Salah at Liverpool by an Anfield star.

Wataru Endo said in 2024 when asked which Japanese player he would like Liverpool to sign: “Kubo.”

The Japan international defensive midfielder added: “The search for a replacement for Mohamed Salah has begun, so this is becoming a real area for Liverpool to strengthen.

“I think the player who can replace him, in the national team, would be Kubo.”

Former Real Mallorca CEO Maheta Molango raved about Kubo in the 2019/20 season when the winger was on loan.

Molango said: “I was very, very impressed by Kubo when I met him. He’s super humble, super down to earth.

“It’s not easy to keep your feet on the ground when you’ve been a superstar since you were 10.

“Kubo is very focused, very professional. That’s also down to his family, they’re very humble and hard-working.

“His talent is obvious, but the reason why he will one day be a football superstar is his head.

“He sees things that other people don’t see, the ability to see a pass and pick a long ball. His intelligence is outstanding. He is very skilled technically but also very brave, he’s not scared of the ball and of taking on responsibility.

“He’s a natural leader and he’s comfortable with the pressure. He has the ingredients to one day be a superstar.”

Latest Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta plan, William Saliba wage increase

Sources have told TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Fraser Fletcher, whether Arsenal plan to stick with Mikel Arteta as the manager in the long run.

One of the players who is key to Arsenal’s long-term fortunes is William Saliba, with the Gunners keen on tying him down on a new deal.

TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Dean Jones, has revealed how much Arsenal are willing to pay Saliba in wages to stop him from going to Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, an Arsenal summer signing has been backed to explode and star for the Gunners in the coming weeks.

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