Arsenal fans will be relieved to hear that David Ornstein isn’t hearing anything about Real Madrid hijacking a deal for Martin Zubimendi.
The Spain international has long been linked strongly with the Gunners, and it seems they still expect him to join them in the summer.
That’s according to Ornstein’s latest information, which he delivered to a fan during a Q&A session with the Athletic.
Zubimendi has shone during his time in La Liga and it makes sense that he might be someone who’d work his way onto Real Madrid’s radar.
However, Ornstein, one of the most reliable transfer journalists in the business, hasn’t heard anything about this deal being in danger, so Gooners can rest easy.
Martin Zubimendi still looks set for Arsenal transfer, says David Ornstein
Responding to a question about Zubimendi and Real Madrid, Ornstein said: “Without wanting to discredit the reporting of others, Blair, I personally haven’t heard this.
“Arsenal are expecting Zubimendi to join in the summer. I don’t know if that means it is completely done but for some time now they have been working on the basis that he will be coming in and a huge amount of work went into getting them to that point – while Edu was still in position as sporting director and subsequently when Jason Ayto took over on an interim basis.
“Andrea Berta will be starting soon as Edu’s permanent successor, so we will hopefully learn as bit more on that and other areas in due course.”
Arsenal have both Jorginho and Thomas Partey coming towards the ends of their contracts this summer, so they could do with bringing in someone like Zubimendi to give Mikel Arteta more depth in midfield next season.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have pretty decent options in the middle of the park already, so probably don’t need to make that position a priority for the time being.
