Mikel Recalde has tipped Martin Zubimendi to leave Real Sociedad this summer for the allure of Liverpool Football Club.
The Noticias de Gipuzkoa reporter shared his opinion on the Spain international’s future amid heavy interest from the Merseysiders in August.
“There is not much new. The main news is that the player has been included in the squad for the last friendly that Real will play in Berlin before the start of the season,” the journalist told DaveOCKOP.
“The ball is in Martín’s court, who is going to decide his future.
“There was a lot of pessimism at the club yesterday when the news broke. In the last few hours, some hope has been regained, but it is difficult for Real. Liverpool has come a long way during these last two weeks in conversations with Martín and his people.
“Me? My opinion is he IS going to leave.”
Ricalde went on to add, to make absolutely clear his opinion on the situation: “This is more opinion than information, my feeling, unfortunately, is that Martín is closer to leaving than staying in Real, even though he still has a lot of doubts. It’d be a big surprise if he stayed at home.”
The 25-year-old won’t come cheap, though the Reds are understood to believe the player’s £51.7m release clause genuinely reflects market value.
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La Real are, understandably, keen on convincing the midfielder to stay put in San Sebastian. Sociedad have reportedly mounted a charm offensive, highlighting the Basque region’s food and beautiful mountain scenery, for instance, in a bid to encourage Zubimendi to extend his stay.
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You can hardly blame Sociedad for pulling every trick out of the book to tug on their No.4’s heartstrings. We would as well, wouldn’t we?
We can certainly appreciate why it would be so hard for the player himself to turn his back on all he’s known.
Of course, whilst a move to another country might seem daunting, how often does the opportunity to play for for football royalty like Liverpool come about?
It’s one train Zubimendi may never get the chance to hop on again.
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The post “My opinion is”: Local Real Sociedad journalist weighs in on Zubimendi to Liverpool appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
