'Japanese Messi' tipped to star for Real Madrid

Japanese starlet Takefusa Kubo [Courtesy]

Japanese starlet Takefusa Kubo wowed his Real Madrid team-mates during pre-season training with some outrageous moves following his move to the Spanish giants this summer.

The attacking midfielder signed for Madrid's Castilla team in June on a five-year deal, with rivals Barcelona thought to be devastated after losing out on the talent.

According to Spanish publication AS Barcelona are angry they missed out on a player who was in their youth ranks between 2011-2015 before moving back to Japan after Barca were found to have violated FIFA's transfer policy for under-18s.

To rub salt into the wounds he cost Madrid just £1.78m to sign from FC Tokyo, which considering he could go on to be a world-class player appears a bargain in today's inflated transfer market.

Kubo has already joined in with first-team training at Madrid's pre-season base in Montreal, and seemed to be more than able to handle himself against far more established and experienced players.

He was filmed showing off a skillful backheel, succesfully taking on on the likes of Marcelo and scoring with a few wonderful finishes against goalkeeper Keylor Navas, and he is thought to be hugely impressing coaches.

He was also caught on camera chatting and laughing with new signing Eden Hazard, and admitted to the winger "I watch your videos before my match!"

Kubo is certainly one to watch in the future, and has already made four senior appearances for Japan following his debut in a friendy against El Salvador last month.

He will now be hoping to break into Madrid's first-team next season, although he will face stern competition given the amount of money the club have spent on new signings this summer.

He may have the chance to impress when Madrid take on Bayern Munich in the International Champions Cup on Sunday, followed by Arsenal and rivals Atletico Madrid next week.