Reports from Spain have confirmed that Martin Zubimendi will join Arsenal this summer, and the Gunners might end up paying more than his release clause.
On Saturday, Fabrizio Romano reported that Arsenal had verbally agreed a deal with Martin Zubimendi for a long-term contract with the club. Zubimendi is set to become the Gunners’ first signing of the summer, with only the formalities of his transfer remaining.
The local media in Sociedad have previously shot down claims of a done deal for Arsenal to sign Zubimendi, but Mikel Recalde now reports for Noticias de Gipuzkoa that “the soap opera is over” and the midfielder will play in north London next season.
Recalde adds that Arsenal will pay at least the €60m (£50.8m) of Zubimendi’s release clause, but they may have negotiated a slightly higher fee in return for favourable payment terms.
The report from Spain adds that Arsenal have been working on the deal for months and have long been on track to agree a transfer. But they recently decided to speed up the process in light of the rumours that incoming Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso wanted his new club to sign Zubimendi.
Alonso was desperate to bring Zubimendi to Madrid, but everything indicates he ultimately arrived too late to the party.
Real Sociedad also tried to renew Zubimendi’s current contract to get him to stay, but those talks have reached a point of no return. The 26-year-old has already given a lot to the club, including rejecting Liverpool last summer to stay one more year.
Zubimendi is a key player for club and country at the moment, making over 40 appearances for Real Sociedad this season and starting six of Spain’s last eight matches.
The 26-year-old was also a regular in the Spain squad as they won Euro 2024, making four appearances including 45 vital minutes to win the final following the injury to Rodri.