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Barcelona will face Martín Zubimendi, the man they want to replace Sergio Busquets, in a tough Copa del Rey tie with Real Sociedad and Xavi won’t say anything bad about him… but the €52m midfielder pounds has his heart set on the Arsenal move
Arsenal target Martin Zubimendi faces Barcelona in the Spanish Cup on Wednesday night having decided he wants to move to the Premier League at the end of the season, and not the current Spanish league leaders.
Barça want Zubimendi to replace Sergio Busquets, whose contract expires this summer, but they cannot compete financially with Arsenal and the player prefers to move to England rather than stay in La Liga.
Arsenal reached an agreement with his club this month to pay off his £52.5m release clause, but the player does not want to leave his hometown team mid-season and the deal is more likely to be concrete at the end of the campaign.
Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi (right) is requested by both Arsenal and Barcelona
Barcelona sees Zubimendi as the player who wants to replace Sergio Busquets in midfield
Zubimendi has made no secret of wanting to play in the Premier League at some point in his career and rejected Real Sociedad’s attempts to increase his release clause in his latest contract renewal.
“He’s a great player,” Xavi said on Tuesday when asked about Zubimendi’s billing as the ‘next Busquets’. But they are different. Zubimendi is more physical and faster while Sergio is more technical.’
Zubimendi, who turns 24 next month, said almost the same as Xavi when asked about the comparisons with Busquets at the start of the season.
The midfielder told Sportsmail: ‘Busquets is unique as a holding midfielder. He’s very good at what he does: the fakes, the interceptions and he’s very smart in the way he presses forward after the ball is lost.
I think it’s harder for him when he has to run back. That’s where I can be different: running after the ball is lost, covering a lot of ground.
However, Arsenal are also interested in Zubimendi and have more financial muscle.
Zubimendi has not hidden his desire to prove himself one day in the Premier League
Zubimendi will face Busquets on Wednesday, as well as Barcelona’s 18-year-old midfielder Gavi. Xavi was asked about complaints emanating from Madrid that the stout midfielder gets away with exaggerated tackles that would see other players booked.
He responded to the double standards of some of the critics: “When he plays for Spain he is wonderful, but when he plays for Barcelona he crosses the line,” he said.
“In the national team he is wonderful but with Barça he is above. I want you to put even more passion into it. I wouldn’t put the brakes on it at all, there are no limits to what it can be.’
One of the reasons why Zubimendi does not want to leave Real Sociedad in the middle of the season is the prospect of abandoning the best campaign in its history.
Barcelona manager Xavi praised the 23-year-old ahead of the Copa del Rey match.
They are third in the league; in cup quarterfinals; in the Europa League; and playing better than any team in Spain.
Xavi knows this will be a test for his Barcelona side, who have not impressed at home this year drawing with Espanyol and narrowly beating Getafe.
“It’s a decisive game,” he said. We will need our fans, let’s see if there are 80,000 in the stadium, that would help us because Real Sociedad is a very good team.