Liverpool will try their hardest in January to convince Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder, Martin Zubimendi, to sign for them, but they face stiff competition from Premier League rivals, Arsenal, particularly given the Spanish connection in North London.
Not only has Zubimendi’s former team-mate, Mikel Merino, joined the Gunners recently, but they’re of course managed by Mikel Arteta who was born in San Sebastian, where Sociedad are based, and spent a little time there.
Zubimendi has famously turned down Liverpool once before of course, though The Athletic’s David Ornstein did discuss the possibility of the Reds revisiting the transfer a couple of months ago.
Now, according to TeamTalk, that’s exactly what Liverpool are doing, and they appear insistent that the £50m-rated ace should sign on at Anfield.
A midfield ace whose enviable skill set would perfectly complement what Arne Slot already has in situ, it’s obvious why the Dutchman would want to land a player who has steadfastly refused to move from the club of his life.
He joined La Real in 2011 as a 12-year-old and, like Arteta, was born in the region. Aside from a brief loan to Antiguoko, the youth team that he began his career at before the move to Sociedad, he’s always worn the light blue and white stripes.
That connection can’t be understated, though he may look at the career of another couple of ex-Sociedad players in Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Isak to understand that there is a professional life – and a very successful one – available to him if he moves on.
At 25 years of age he’s approaching his peak years as a player, and although a move abroad isn’t ‘now or never’ as yet, the older he becomes, the less attractive a possibility he may be to various interested parties.
Clearly, Zubimendi needs to make a decision once and for all on where he sees himself playing over the next few seasons and put to bed, or not, any notion of a future in the Premier League.
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