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It was quite poetic really. Takefusa Kubo joined Barcelona's famous La Masia academy when he was only ten years old. Even then, the Catalans knew they had a special kid on their hands. "The Japanese Messi", he was soon dubbed by the media and his skillset and pure talent certainly radiated all things Lionel Messi - he was quick, small, agile, with impeccable technical and passing abilities and a mean left foot.

He could dribble past an opponent in a blink of an eye and then set up his teammate or even finish the action by himself. Needless to say, he was a true gem with a future and, from the looks of it, everything pointed out at it being a very bright one. But what no one really expected was that it would be in Real Madrid colours.

After a bit speculation, it really did happen: Los Blancos officially announced the arrival of the Japanese prodigy in mid-June, dubbing their newest signing as "one of the most promising young players in world football." And they weren't wrong. Kubo arrived with some experience already under his belt.

In 13 games in the Japanese top-flight last season, the youngster scored and assisted four goals while adding one more in the domestic Cup. At 18 years of age, he has already won four caps for the Japan national team.

It was pretty obvious for everyone to see: Real Madrid have dealt a huge blow to Barcelona and, for once, they now have a talent for the future just waiting to be unleashed.

But if recent reports are any indication, Kubo and the Galacticos will have to wait a bit longer until the Japanese starlet is introduced to La Liga while donning a white shirt. According to El Chiringuito, Kubo might be very close to joining Real Valladolid on a loan deal for the next campaign. This in itself is not a big deal. It's difficult to incorporate such a relatively inexperienced youngster in Real Madrid's starting XI that quickly.

He wouldn't be the first youngster to go on loan and seek regular first-team football.

From that part, the decision to find him a club that are more likely to be in a position to offer him first team opportunities makes sense. Originally, that place was supposed to be Real Madrid's youth team, where the youngster is currently registered. But in the end, playing for a La Liga team was seen as a better alternative for the youngster. And in essence, it really might be.

But there's also that other side of the coin. The not so shiny one. It seems that Kubo is being shipped out not because of necessity or just so he could improve his game and bring it up to speed, but also due to some bad management.

La Liga have a strict policy that states no more than three non-European players can be registered in the squad. And as it stands, that final spot at Real Madrid was given to the newcomer Rodrygo, and it shut the door to Kubo even before the youngster could have a chance to prove his worth.

Was this planned in advance? Were Real Madrid aware of this situation surfacing before they decided to snatch up the prodigious jewel? We don't know just yet but Kubo has already shown his quality and that he offers something different. Florentino Perez could probably use something different right about now.

Getting the youngster was brilliant business by the boys from the capital. Snatching him up in front of their rivals' noses was an even better one. But now comes the more difficult part. Successfully incorporating him so that he fulfils his potential we know is there beneath those rough edges and inexperience.

Of course, all of this could potentially be fixed very quickly by just opening up a foreign spot in the team by either selling or loaning out someone else, which would let Kubo back in the team. But maybe the plan for the Japanese was to join the Castilla or go out on loan from the very beginning.

Kubo's talent is huge and this is an opportunity Los Blancos must not miss. They've hit the bullseye and now it's up to them to make it count and rub it in Barcelona's faces.

It would be a great shame if this transfer ended up being just one of those we soon forget. The curious case of Martin Odegaard first springs to mind. Just like Kubo now, Odegaard was always supposed to be the next big thing. But it hasn't turned out that way yet.

Success never arrived and the loans just kept getting extended over and over again. Now, their prodigy is getting a stint at Real Sociedad but there are no signs of him actually being close to the level needed in the Spanish capital anytime soon.

Real Madrid should start learning from those mistakes and they certainly shouldn't let bad management ruin an opportunity like this one.

We all know those don't come around often.

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