NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Martin Zubimendi has played down the announcement of a summer move and insists he is happy at Real Sociedad despite developing links with Arsenal and Barcelona.
The 25-year-old has endured a tough campaign in San Sebastian and is in the running to be part of Spain’s Euro squad, with a host of European giants lining up to sign him.
Part of Zubimendi’s appeal is that he has a €60 million (£52. 6 million) release clause in his contract that can be activated in the summer window.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a long-time admirer and the Gunners first connected with a move in January 2023; they opted to break their club’s record for moves to sign Declan Rice a few months later.
However, they remain interested now, as Jorginho and Thomas Partey could leave the Emirates at the end of the season to open up in midfield.
Bayern Munich have also been heavily linked with Zubimendi, but the patience of that interest will depend on who replaces Thomas Tuchel, as the outgoing German was adamant about the need for a new No. 6.
More recently, Barcelona also have a candidate for Zubimendi’s signing and Xavi has reportedly seen the midfielder as a key target after making a 180-degree turn in his resolve to leave the Camp Nou.
But the player himself says he is paying little attention to the buzz being generated around his long career at Real Sociedad and insists he is satisfied at his current club.
Asked about the speculation, Zubimendi told Spanish newspaper Marca: “It’s just rumours, I’m satisfied at Real Sociedad, it’s like home.
“I can’t say that I will play my whole career at Real Sociedad, maybe the club probably won’t need me to continue in the future.
“But I don’t care about those rumors. “
Instead, Zubimendi only aims to secure European football next season with the Society and continues: “Our goal is to secure a qualifying position for Europe next season.
“It would be the first time in Real Sociedad’s history that we have achieved this for five consecutive seasons. That would be important to us.
Zubimendi is the metronome of Real Sociedad’s midfield and has averaged 49 passes per game in La Liga, also scoring 4 goals; He’s also tenacious and combative off the ball, earning a team-high 47 tackles and racking up a team-high 37 interceptions.
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