Arsenal will face an uphill battle with Barcelona for the signing of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi in the summer transfer window, according to Football London.
Zubimendi was strongly linked with a move to the Gunners in the winter transfer window with reports suggesting the Londoners were willing to meet his £52.5m release clause. However, the midfielder didn’t want to leave his boyhood club in the middle of the season so any potential move fell through.
Mikel Arteta is keen on strengthening his engine room to provide competition to the likes of Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and skipper Martin Ødegaard. The North Londoners signed Jorginho from Chelsea to replace Egypt international Mohamed Elneny – who has been ruled out for several months due to knee injury.
However, Arsenal are still looking to bring in a marquee midfielder in the summer and West Ham’s Declan and Brighton ace Moises Caicedo are seemingly priority targets but Zubimendi is also still on their radar.
The 23-year-old moved to Real Sociedad in 2011 and rose through the youth rank to the first team following his impressive displays for the club. He is one of the standout players for Sociedad this season, featuring in 24 games and making four goal contributions as they sit 3rd in La Liga after 19 matches played.
He is also a senior Spanish international having represented his country at various youth levels from Under 19 to Under 23.
Provide depth
The signing of Italy international Jorginho is seen as a stop-gap option after missing out on Caicedo last month. Arsenal are expected to be active in the summer as they look to add more quality signings to their squad to be able to compete with for major honours.
Arteta is hugely backed by Sporting Director Edu as he continues to reshape his team for future success and this season could be the start of something great at Arsenal with the club currently top of the Premier League table with 50 points.
Zubimendi would be a quality addition to the squad however, Arsenal will face competition for his signature. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona are also determined to sign Zubimendi as a replacement for Sergio Busquets – whose contract expires in the summer.
Therefore, Arteta would have to try and convince Zubimendi to snub Barca’s advances if he wants to lure him to the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season.
Read more: Report: Arsenal eyeing move to sign £22m star
