“Liverpool were close” – Fabrizio Romano reveals how Arsenal moved into pole position for transfer



Liverpool were reportedly close to sealing the transfer of Martin Zubimendi last summer, but Arsenal are now leading the race for the Real Sociedad midfielder.

That’s according to Fabrizio Romano in his latest exclusive video piece for the Daily Briefing, with the Italian journalist explaining how advanced the Gunners now are in getting this deal done.

Zubimendi has looked hugely impressive during his time with Sociedad and it makes sense that he’s now being eyed by all these big clubs, with Arsenal doing well to move ahead of their rivals in the race for the Spain international’s signature.

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Romano insists this is not a done deal yet, with some details still to clarify, but it seems Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is working on convincing the player to join his project.

Martin Zubimendi transfer to Arsenal – all you need to know

Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad (Photo by Luciano Lima/Getty Images)

Romano spoke to CaughtOffside for this Daily Briefing piece, explaining the latest on Arsenal’s pursuit of Zubimendi and why he rejected Liverpool last summer.

“The situation of Martin Zubimendi is one of the most interesting for the summer transfer window and Arsenal are clearly leading the race to land him in the summer,” Romano said.

“It’s not a done deal yet, there is still some work to do, but Arsenal are in good and advanced talks to sign Zubimendi in the summer transfer window – not in January, because Real Sociedad have no plans to part ways with the player in the middle of the season.

“We know Sociedad and Zubimendi have a very special relationship, but for the summer the release clause will be there – €60m – and Arsenal are willing to trigger the clause as soon as they will complete the agreement with the player.

“The conversation is advanced and Mikel Arteta is involved in presenting the project as a crucial factor to convince Zubimendi, who was also a strong target for Liverpool last summer.


 

“Liverpool were close to getting the deal done and then Zubimendi decided to stay at Real Sociedad, basically because he loves his club, his city, his country, so sometimes, especially from players from that area of Spain, like Nico Williams too, they love to stay there and that was the case for Zubimendi.”

He added: “Now Arsenal are working to convince the player and they have positive feelings. The conversation is ongoing, the negotiation is ongoing for the summer, not for now, it will continue in the next days and weeks, but Arsenal want to sign Zubimendi next summer to complete a great midfield.

“The conversation is absolutely ongoing, with Arsenal trying to fix the next details as soon as possible.”