Arsenal’s hopes of signing Martin Zubimendi during the summer transfer window will be tempered by Manchester United’s interest in the midfielder.
Both the Premier League rivals are now interested in signing the Real Sociedad star, who has impressed several clubs around Europe.
The 24-year-old is Mikel Arteta’s main target in the midfield, along with Douglas Luiz and Amadou Onana, according to SportsLens.
Zubimendi is not interested in leaving the Spanish club this month. He is looking forward to play the Champions League knockout round with his team.
Throughout the remainder of the season, Arsenal will keep an eye on the midfield player. However, SportsLens has reported that Manchester United is a rival now to sign the highly rated Spaniard.
The Red Devils have no intention of keeping Sofyan Amrabat at the club and they see Zubimendi as his ideal replacement.
To complete a transfer, both Arsenal and Man United will need to be ready to activate his £51.6 million release clause.
Zubimendi would be better suited joining Arsenal over Manchester United based on this season. The Gunners are more in line with his abilities and Mikel Arteta’s team is in the hunt for the Premier League and the Champions League titles.
ten Hag has other positions to look after as he needs a striker and a right-winger first before making other signings.
Transfer window expert Fabrizio Romano spoke exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing and mentioned Arsenal’s interest in the midfielder.
He said:
“We’ve had a lot of stories about Arsenal and different midfielders in recent times, with big names like Douglas Luiz, Amadou Onana and Martin Zubimendi linked with the Gunners. It looks difficult for a deal to happen this January, but we’ll see if the situation is different in the summer.
“So, which of those players would be the best fit for Mikel Arteta’s side? My personal feeling is that Zubimendi would be fantastic, even if Onana and Douglas have the advantage of both already knowing the Premier League. Zubimendi is fantastic player, he can help with his vision, quality and intelligence on the ball – he’s the perfect midfielder.
“Still, it’s important to say that he’s very happy at Real Sociedad, only focused on his club and he already rejected chances to leave in the recent years as he always wanted to stay there.”
None of the above mentioned players will be at Arsenal this Year . All paper talk as usual with the Gunners .