Santi Cazorla is reportedly close to joining Qatari side Al Sadd, holding advanced talks with the club over a move this summer.

Speaking on Instagram live (via Marca) Al Sadd press officer Ahmad Al-Ansari claimed they’re in ‘very advanced’ talks to bring Santi Cazorla to the club this summer.

Since joining Villarreal in 2018, Cazorla only signed one-year deals with the club. Given his age and his injury history, this was the best way to ensure the club didn’t end up paying for nothing. It obviously doesn’t give them any power to hold onto him, though.

It would be a bit of a shame to see Cazorla leave Europe right now, as it’ll almost certainly reduce his chances of featuring in the European Championships next summer.

At the same time, he’s turning 36 before the end of the year, so it’s probably time to start thinking about that last payday before moving on from playing.

Either way, it’s just great to see the former Gunner in demand and playing well again. He has 14 goals and 10 assists in 37 appearances for the La Liga side this season.

Villarreal will certainly miss him, as he helped them avoid relegation in 2018/19 before pushing them up to fifth in the table this time around. Arguably, Arsenal still miss his influence in the team now.