Fifteen months after Arsenal paid Real Sociedad slightly more than Zubimendi’s €60m release clause to secure installment-friendly payment terms, the 27-year-old cannot get on the pitch for Mikel Arteta.
He has racked up just 82 minutes of Premier League action this season, with no goals or assists, sitting fourth in the midfield order behind Declan Rice, Bruno Guimaraes and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Mourinho put the name forward
Real Madrid are the club pushing hardest. Spanish journalist Joaquin Maroto has reported that Mourinho, back at the Bernabeu since the summer on a three-year deal, has personally raised Zubimendi with the hierarchy as his preferred midfield signing.
“It’s Mourinho who’s going to request the signing of a midfielder; he’s already talking about it within the club,” Maroto said.
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The player is said to want the move. According to Football365, Zubimendi would rather leave for Real Madrid than continue to spend matchdays on Arteta’s bench, with the departure carrying Mourinho’s blessing.
It is a sharp reversal from March, when the midfielder knocked back an approach from club president Florentino Perez and insisted he was happy in north London.
Barcelona a step behind in the race
Barcelona are the second club in the triangle, but trailing. The Hard Tackle reports that Hansi Flick’s side are monitoring Zubimendi as a long-term understudy for Frenkie de Jong, who has not played this season because of a knee injury. There is no formal offer or active negotiation, and Barcelona would only move seriously if the Netherlands midfielder fails to recover his influence.
That split is why Zubimendi’s reported preference points to Madrid. At the Camp Nou he would be waiting on de Jong’s knee; at the Bernabeu he walks into a Mourinho midfield that has looked unconvincing through the opening stretch of the season.
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What happens next
The January transfer window opens on 1 January 2027.
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