ZubiMendi to Arsenal at a STANDSTILL due to Real Madrid interest

Just about 2 weeks ago, Martin Zubimendi had to post an instagram story of himself in a Spanish beach just to debunk the fake news claiming he was in London undergoing medicals to join Arsenal. When asked about the ig story while on NT duties with Spain, the player said:

“I posted pics on a Spanish beach while rumors said I’m in London doing medical exams for Arsenal? Yes, I did that to make it clear those rumors were NOT true.”

Arsenal have shown interest in the Real sociedad midfield for the longest time now, but a deal is still far off done. As per reports by Marca, the reason for this is down to Real Madrid’s interest in the player.

Real Madrid have been in active search for an experienced midfielder, with Zubimendi being a prime target. The fact the player is Laliga tested and approved gives Real Madrid all the more reasons to keep an eye on the Spaniard.

Infact ahead of last night’s UEFA Nations League final between Spain and Portugal, as_maroto claimed Florentino Perez was working on a secret signing. The source even specified the player was playing in the said final, while confirming it’s NOT Nico Williams.

Many fans immediately rushed to speculate it was Zubimendi, the player backing the speculations with a goal.

Zubimendi considers Xabi Alonso his idol

As a Spaniard who grew up watching Spain’s golden generation of Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Xabi Alonso, the player singled out Xabi as his role model. Understandably, both players operate in a similar space on the field, so it’s not hard to figure out why.

During his interview with the Spanish NT, this is what Zubimendi had to say about his future and interests from Xabi Alonso, as quoted by X/the Madrid zone:

My future? It will be a long summer. I don’t know how it will end.

If Xabi Alonso calls me to join Madrid? I’ve always said Xabi is my idol. It was a privilege to have him as my coach at La Real B.

If he called me now? I don’t want to talk about that hypothesis, I’d rather talk about the present. It would be disrespectful to talk about that while I’m on national team duty.

To sign Zubimendi, Real Madrid will have to activate his release clause of €60m. La Real is in no mood to negotiate that price with suitors.

With a long summer ahead of us, it will be interesting to see if a deal pans out.