According to football.london, Arsenal are set to make an offer to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi in the summer transfer window in the coming months.
Mikel Arteta wants to bolster his midfield options and provide competition to Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, and captain Martin Ødegaard and has identified Zubimendi as an ideal fit for his squad.
The North Londoners sealed a deal for Jorginho from Chelsea in January to replace Egypt international Mohamed Elneny – who has been ruled out for several months due to a knee injury.
The Italy international is seen as a stop-gap midfielder and at age 31, he’s not a long term solution, hence the need to bring in young blood and hungry talents to complement the squad.
He has racked up eight appearances for Arsenal so far and scored once in all competitions as they sit top of the Premier League table with 69 points, eight points above second-placed Manchester City who have a game in hand.
The online news portal claims Arteta’s side have genuine interest in Zubimendi, who has a £53m release clause included in his contract. The Gunners were first linked with a move for the 24-year-old in the winter transfer window, but the midfielder didn’t want to leave his boyhood club in the middle of the season so the move fell through.
Reinforcement
Arsenal have been linked with a move for several midfielders including West Ham’s Declan and Brighton ace Moises Caicedo but could settle on Zubimendi who has opened up on the prospect of a possible move to the Gunners or Barcelona in the summer.
“Rumors, rumors, because I told my manager that I didn’t want to hear anything, especially in winter. Leaving Real Sociedad aside with the season we are having would be illogical. Here I am very happy,” he told Spanish outlet Sport.
“Beyond the clause, when someone wants to be in a club, the clause doesn’t matter. I think it is a balanced clause with all the aspects that the contract brought together. Nothing more than that… I look forward to a quiet summer. Like the others and nothing.”
Zubimendi has become a key cog at Real Sociedad since rising through the youth rank to the first team. He has impressed in the middle of the park for the La Liga side this season, featuring in 33 games and making four goal contributions in all competitions.
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