Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has been dealt a major blow ahead of his first transfer window as top midfield target Martin Zubimendi has decided to sign for Real Madrid.
Zubimendi’s £51m release clause was triggered by Liverpool last summer but the Spain international snubbed the move in favour of remaining at Real Sociedad.
But the 26-year-old has since decided that he does want to leave his boyhood club, with Berta tasked with bringing the defensive midfielder to the Emirates as one of Mikel Arteta’s priority signings in what by all accounts will be a significant summer for the Gunners.
And transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Friday that the Gunners are ‘working hard on Zubimendi’.
“What I can tell you today is that Arteta will be backed in the market,” Romano said. “Arteta will have a lot of power in the market – together with Andrea they will plan for the strategy.
“(Martin) Zubimendi is a top target, the new striker will arrive, Arsenal will do also more on the market. So Arsenal are working hard on Zubimendi, on the striker, on the winger probably, and more. So Arsenal will be busy in the market and Arteta will be backed – but he really deserved that.”
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Not hard enough though according to Spanish outlet Fichajes, who claim Zubimendi has made a ‘clear decision’ to sign for Real Madrid after the La Liga giants told him he would be the ‘protagonist’ in their ‘sports plan’.
The report states:
‘Martín Zubimendi has made a clear decision for the next transfer market: his ideal destination is at the Santiago Bernabéu. The Real Sociedad midfielder, one of the most quoted names in Spanish football, has given priority to Real Madrid, despite the strong interest that Arsenal maintains in getting his services. The white club, aware of its shortcomings in the organization of the game, has identified the Spanish international as an essential piece for the immediate future of its midfield.
‘From Chamartín [Madrid] they have not taken long to move. According to sources close to the operation, Real Madrid would have already exposed to Zubimendi the sports plans in which he appears as the protagonist, a gesture that has significantly influenced his decision. Arsenal, willing to pay its termination clause, has lost ground in the face of the player’s determination, who dreams of wearing white.
‘At 25 years old, the Donostia midfielder has reached competitive maturity and his performance has not gone unnoticed by the big European clubs. However, his preference for Madrid suggests that the operation will not depend only on figures, but also on the sports project and the role that is promised to him in one of the most demanding teams on the continent. The summer is decisive, and everything indicates that Zubimendi is closer to Chamartín than to the Premier League.’
