Reason behind Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal delay revealed

Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi appears to be on the move this summer, and it has been widely reported that Arsenal have agreed a deal for the Basque midfielder to arrive in London. Despite those reports emerging some time ago, the deal has still not been made official.

Zubimendi has a €60m release clause, and that is the fee that Arsenal will have to front up to sign him. After attempts by Liverpool and Barcelona to sign Zubimendi in the past, the Gunners look set to be the ones who will get the deal over the line, as he joins former teammates Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino, and fellow Basque Mikel Arteta.

However Real Madrid have also been credited with consistent interest in Zubimendi, and despite his apparently imminent move, the media in Madrid insist that until the deal is made official, they will continue their attempts to change his mind. Beyond being Real Madrid, their biggest pull is the presence of Zubimendi’s idol Xabi Alonso as the new manager.

All Zubimendi needs to do is to pass a medical for the deal to be made official, say the most recent reports. Hence it has caused some confusion as to why the deal is taking so long to be rubber-stamped, especially given the insistence in the Spanish capital. Yet The Athletic explain that the issue is administrative: Real Sociedad are keen to have the €60m sale in their accounts for next year rather than this year, and so the deal is being held over until July to allow them to do so.

It feeds into the uncertainty in Real Madrid’s midfield. It had been thought that Los Blancos would invest in the middle of the pitch, following the loss of Toni Kroos last summer, and Luka Modric this year. They are being strongly linked with Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller, but the word is that they may make a call after the Club World Cup.