Real Madrid ‘make move for Arsenal target Martin Zubimendi’ – and ‘continue to monitor’ in-from Premier League centre back ahead of summer

Real Madrid are interested in signing Arsenal target Martin Zubimendi this summer, according to a report.

The midfielder, who came close to joining Liverpool last summer before turning his back on the deal last-minute, has, for a few months, appeared set to join the Gunners at the end of the campaign.

He would help solve the Gunners’ defensive midfield issues, having starred at Real Sociedad for a number of seasons and seemingly keen to take the next step in his career after not being ready last summer.

That hasn’t stopped other sides looking to move for his services, however, with it reported that Real Madrid are the latest side to make their intentions to sign him known in a bid to keep him in Spain.

He would cost a pretty penny, with Mail Sport revealing in January that Arsenal were pretty much there with a £51million agreement, and it is reported that Madrid could also table that sum to make a deal happen.

According to Diario AS, Carlo Ancelotti and Co are keen to add more Spanish players to their squad, with just five home nation players currently on their books.

Mikel Arteta’s side have been set to trigger the midfielder’s release clause in the summer

The LaLiga side are also reportedly monitoring an in-form Premier League centre back

That centre back is Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen, who would also help increase the club’s Spanish quota

Those players are Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, Fran García, Dani Ceballos and Jesus Vallejo, while Marco Asencio has been more involved with the senior team this season.

Signing Zubimendi was helo that quota, while it is also reported that the European champions are also monitoring an in-form Premier League centre back ahead of a potential summer move.

That centre back is Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen, who has been a revelation for the Cherries since signing for the club from Juventus in the summer.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the 19-year-old has a release clause of £50million, meaning a deal could be done in the summer due to no negotiations being essential with the club.

The arrivals of Zubimendi and Huijsen, as well as the permanent promotion of Asencio, would go a long way to helping the club increase the number of Spaniards on their books.

Zubimendi, meanwhile, chose to stay in Spain last summer despite varying degrees of interest from Arsenal and Liverpool, though it is understood the Gunners didn’t make a formal offer for the player during the window.

There had also been interest in Zubimendi from Manchester City following the season-ending injury suffered by Rodri.

Zubimendi has 15 caps for Spain and is understood to have a €60m(£51m) release clause which Arsenal intent on formally triggering.

He is viewed as one of the leading midfield talents in European football, and the swoop would represent a major coup for Arsenal and Arteta given the player’s burgeoning reputation and interest from top clubs.