Mystery over Martin Zubimendi's Arsenal transfer as £51m target appears to deny medical claims in Instagram post
MARTIN ZUBIMENDI appears to have denied claims he is undergoing a medical at Arsenal.
Arsenal triggered a £51million release clause in his contract in January.
3
3
3
The transfer has been at an advanced stage ever since and the final details are expected to be completed shortly.
That includes a medical, with reports this week claiming he was set to undergo a check-up in London in the coming days.
Zubimendi, 26, appeared to react to those claims with his latest Instagram post.
The midfielder shared a couple of snaps from the beach including one of himself in a wetsuit, surfboard in hand.
Spanish outlet Cope report that Zubimendi is still in San Sebastian.
Despite that, senior Arsenal figures expect the deal to be completed swiftly.
Personal terms and the relevant documents have already been signed and agreed, as well as the payment structure around the Spaniard's release clause.
So all that is left is a medical - once that is complete he will be announced as a Gunners player.
He will provide depth to a midfield that has already lost veteran Jorginho, who is heading to Brazilian outfit Flamengo on a free transfer with his Emirates deal expiring next month.
Zubimendi is highly rated by Arteta, who convinced the Euro 2024 winner of the North London project after he turned down a switch to Arne Slot's Liverpool last summer.
It is the start of a huge summer of incomings for Arsenal as they prepare to splash around £200m on new talent to fire them to Premier League glory next term.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Chelsea weighing up £50m bid for Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens
Chelsea are weighing up a bid for Jamie Gittens after holding talks with Borussia Dortmund over the England Under-21 winger. Gittens, who is expected to cost around £50m, is one of several names of interest to the club as they look to bring in a new wide player before heading to the Club World Cup later this month. Bringing in a right-footed winger capable of playing on the left flank is a priority for Chelsea, who are also set to announce a £30m deal for the Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap. Chelsea have tracked Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams, who is likely to prove too expensive, and were interested in Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho in January. There were concerns at the time over Garnacho's attitude. A move for Gittens, who previously spent time in Chelsea's academy, would fit with the Stamford Bridge club's strategy of targeting young players. The talks with Dortmund also come amid uncertainty over whether or not Chelsea will meet an obligation to make Jadon Sancho's loan from United permanent for £25m. Some key figures within the club are not sold on signing the winger, citing his inconsistent form this season, but a deal is possible if Sancho agrees to reduce his salary. Chelsea must pay a £5m penalty clause if they send the 25-year-old back to United. It is set to be another busy summer at Stamford Bridge, with Enzo Maresca also hoping to sign a new centre-back after leading his side into the Champions League and winning the Uefa Conference League. It remains to be seen if the arrival of Delap will be followed by the arrival of another striker. Chelsea like Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike but see him as too expensive at £84m. There is long-term interest in RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko, who is wanted by Arsenal. Nicolas Jackson's future will be up in the air if two strikers arrive. A host of outgoings are factored into Chelsea's planning and it is understood they are open to offers for Noni Madueke. The England winger joined from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023 and scored 11 goals in all competitions last season, but there is a feeling that the 23-year-old's development has stalled. Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Milan, are other attackers up for sale. Chelsea have an extensive list of players up for sale. Robert Sánchez and Djordje Petrovic are on the market for clubs looking for a new goalkeeper. Renato Veiga, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi are out of favour in defence and Wesley Fofana's fitness problems mean that suitable offers for him will be hard to turn down. Chelsea tried to sell Trevoh Chalobah last summer. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu are available after making little impression in midfield and Raheem Sterling, who has two years left on his £325,000 a week contract, has no future at the club after a disappointing loan at Arsenal.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK manufacturing shrinks again but may be ‘turning a corner'
The UK manufacturing sector shrank again last month but may be 'turning a corner', according to new figures. Factories saw the recent downturn linked to trade tensions, US tariffs and higher costs slow down during May but highlighted that confidence was still 'subdued'. The S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI survey, watched closely by economists, showed a reading of 46.4 in May, up from 45.4 in April. Any reading above 50 indicates that activity is growing while any score below means it is contracting. The sector is, therefore, still contracting, but at a slower rate. It was a stronger performance than expected, with economists having predicted a reading of 45.1 for the month. Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: 'May PMI data indicate that UK manufacturing faces major challenges, including turbulent market conditions, trade uncertainties, low client confidence and rising tax-related wage costs. 'Downturns in output, new orders and new export business have continued, and business optimism has stayed subdued by the historical standards of the survey. 'There are some signs of manufacturing turning a corner, though. 'PMI indices tracking output and new orders have moved higher in each of the past two months, suggesting the downturn is easing, and came in better than the earlier flash estimates for May.' Firms saw factory production contract again as companies scaled back production due to a reduction in new work, both in the UK and from overseas clients. Total new business volumes also decreased further, although this was at a slower rate than the previous month. Weak global market conditions, trade uncertainty, low customer confidence and cost pressures linked to the recent rise in employer national insurance contributions were all linked to the continued decline. However, some firms indicated that warmer weather conditions helped support positive sales in May. The latest figures come amid continued uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's tariff plans, which continued to change in recent weeks. Mr Trump said a new 50% import tariff on steel and aluminium will come into force on Wednesday. The US agreed earlier this month that it will ultimately drop these tariffs from imports of these products from the UK, but firms in these sectors are now expected to face the 50% rate until the details on UK-US deal are confirmed.
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Who is Karol Nawrocki? Conservative historian becomes Poland's next president
Karol Nawrocki, a 42-year-old conservative historian and amateur boxer, has won Poland's presidential election. While his liberal opponent Rafal Trzaskowski played up his European credentials, Nawrocki met Donald Trump at the White House and received the U.S. president's backing for his bid for Poland 's top job. Nawrocki had cultivated a tough-guy image during his campaign, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and boxing rings. According to the final result from the electoral commission, he won the election with 50.89 per cent of the votes. Nawrocki had no political experience prior to the campaign and was not even a party member until he was tapped by the conservative Law and Justice party that governed Poland from 2015 to 2023. His supporters describe him as the embodiment of traditional, patriotic values. Many of them oppose abortion and LGBTQ+ visibility and say Nawrocki reflects the traditional values they grew up with. Unlike other Eurosceptics in central Europe, such as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico or Hungary's Viktor Orban, Nawrocki supports giving military aid to help Ukraine fend off Russia's three-year-old invasion. But he has said that, if elected, he will oppose membership in Western alliances for Ukraine, a position that seeks to chime with falling support for Ukrainians among Poles, who have hosted more than a million refugees from across the border. His backers in the Law and Justice (PiS) party had supported fast-tracking membership in the EU and NATO for Kyiv while in power until late 2023. Nawrocki's critics said he was fuelling unease over Ukrainian refugees at a time when the far-right is highlighting migration, the cost of living and security. He cited his campaign slogan, Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April. He is likely to follow a similar path to outgoing President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally who has used his veto power to block the pro-EU government's efforts to undo the previous PiS administration's judicial reforms. The EU says the PiS reforms undermined the independence of the courts. The fight in the right In the last two weeks, the candidates mostly fought for the support of people who voted for other candidates in the first round, in particular the far-right's Slawomir Mentzen, who came third with 15 per cent support. Trzaskowski tried to attract them with promises of deregulation. Nawrocki touted his credentials as head of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), support for gun ownership, traditional families and Christian values, but also a critical tone on Ukraine, in sync with Mentzen's. His wife Marta, a civil servant, and three children featured strongly in his campaign. Nawrocki's past has been a topic of intense public debate following a series of negative media reports. There were questions over his acquisition of a flat from a pensioner and an admission that he took part in orchestrated brawls. "All my sports activities were based on the strength of my heart, the strength of my muscles, my fists," Nawrocki, an amateur boxer, told a debate when confronted over reports he had been involved in mass organised fights between football hooligans. "It was a fair competition, regardless of the form." His Law and Justice party backers have accused the government of orchestrating the controversies with the help of Poland's special services and liberal media. The government rejects these accusations. Nawrocki portrayed the election as a referendum on the government, which he described as a metropolitan elite out of touch with their concerns. "I am simply one of you," he told voters in the eastern town of Biala Podlaska while on the campaign trail.
