Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay says that no club has made an approach for Liverpool transfer target Takefusa Kubo.

Reports in the Japanese media earlier this week claimed that the Reds were willing to trigger the €65m (£55m) release clause in the winger’s contract but Aperribay has confirmed that no one has contacted him.

“There is no issue. There are no negotiations with any club. We’re in the market, anything can happen, but Take is very happy here and he’s going to continue. We love him very much, let’s hope he stays at La Real forever.”

It should be noted that, if Liverpool wanted to trigger Kubo’s buyout clause, no talks would need to be held with Real Sociedad anyway. However, it appears that any move to sign the Japanese international is not imminent.

The Kubo links do look plausible

One of the reasons why there has been so much written about the forward’s potential switch to Liverpool, despite the absence of credible sources in the UK, is that Kubo fits the profile that the Reds are looking for.

He has just turned 23, which is the sort of age that the Merseyside club usually target. Kubo is also left-footed so he could potentially replace Mo Salah.

The Egyptian international has less than a year left on his contract and it is looking increasingly likely that he will leave on a free transfer at the end of next season.

Liverpool have been linked with other wingers

The Reds have been credited with an interest in Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams but the Spanish international’s salary is deemed excessive, while Barcelona are currently the favourites to sign him.

PSV Eindhoven’s Johan Bakayoko, Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon and Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi are other names that have been mentioned.

Find out who is in Liverpool’s first-team squad for 2024/2025 season here