The brass at La Liga giants Real Madrid are ready to throw in the towel in their long-standing pursuit of a midfield target.
That’s according to Diario AS, who point towards Martín Zubimendi as the player in question.
The name of Real Sociedad standout Zubimendi has of course long proven a prominent one in the transfer chatter surrounding Real Madrid.
This comes with the Spanish international boasting a number of high-profile admirers behind the scenes at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The arrival of Xabi Alonso – who oversaw Zubimendi’s early development in the youth system at Real Sociedad – at Real Madrid, in turn, only served in ramping up the speculation linking the midfielder with a Blancos switch.
As alluded to above, though, if the latest word stemming from the Spanish media late this week is anything to go by, then Florentino Pérez and co. appear ready to throw in the towel when it comes to Zubimendi’s signing.
As per a report from Diario AS, in the knowledge that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are all set to land the 26-year-old:
‘Zubimendi is escaping Madrid’s orbit, and so they’re already looking at other options, including waiting to see what happens at the Club World Cup.’
Conor Laird – GSFN
