Martin Zubimendi is in London to finalise his transfer to Arsenal, with reports the deal will officially be completed on Tuesday.
Mikel Recalde of Spanish outlet Noticias de Gipuzkoa reports that Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi travelled to London on Sunday to complete his transfer to Arsenal.
The report includes a picture of Zubimendi at the airport with a group of students travelling to England, and adds that everything indicates the transfer will be made official in early July.
Kike Marin reports that Monday is Zubimendi’s final day as a Real Sociedad player, and he’ll become an Arsenal player for €66m (£56.5m) on Tuesday.
Arsenal are paying slightly more than Zubimendi’s €60m release clause, as the increased fee allows them to pay in instalments. Paying the release clause would have meant offering up the entire €60m in one go.
Zubimendi also travelled to London the week before last, reportedly to complete his paperwork, but we’ve known for a while that the deal was only likely to be announced after July 1st.
Reports have suggested that Arsenal and Real Sociedad wanted to delay the official announcement until July for financial reasons, allowing both clubs to include it in their 2025/26 accounts.
Now that we’ve reached the end of June, and with just days until Arsenal’s pre-season schedule gets underway, there’s no reason to delay the confirmation of the deal for any longer.