Talks for €60m Real Sociedad midfielder have progressedArteta wants new striker with Jesus set for surgery Arsenal are confident of agreeing a deal to sign Martín Zubimendi in the summer and will step up attempts to bring in a striker this month after confirming Gabriel Jesus has sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury that will rule him out until next season. Talks over Zubimendi, who turned down a move to Liverpool last year and opted to remain at Real Sociedad, are understood to have progressed in recent days, with the Spain midfielder thought to be keen to join. The 25-year-old, part of the Spain squad that won Euro 2024, has a €60m (£51m) release clause that will have to be met. Continue reading...

Liverpool were very interested in a deal for Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi in the summer only for him to turn down a move but Arsenal could now finally bring him to the Premier League

Martin Zubimendi's transfer to Arsenal in the summer is 'virtually complete' with Mikel Arteta set to sign another player from Real Sociedad after Kieran Tierney sang the midfielder's praises

Arsenal have been chasing Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi for over 12 months - but the Gunners are now finally closing in on agreement with the La Liga outfit for his services

Only the international stage with Colombia suits an unfulfilled talent who flopped at Everton and faded away at Real Madrid On Monday, Rayo Vallecano released James Rodríguez on a free transfer. It hadn’t been much of a stay. In four and a half months at the club, he managed 136 minutes of league football. Only once did he start in La Liga. Rodríguez is 33 now. Since he left Everton in 2021, he has started just 37 league games and scored only 10 goals. This is the sixth season in a row in which he has been released on a free transfer as he has drifted from Real Madrid to the team currently 12th in the table, via Qatar, Greece and Brazil. The sense is of a waning career nearing its end. And yet in those three and a half years since his last game for Everton, Rodríguez has played 32 times for Colombia. While at Rayo, he has played 374 international minutes. True, he doesn’t often last a full game, but there are few other indications of decline. As Colombia reached the final of last year’s Copa América, he was named player of the tournament. His is a career that seems to run on two parallel tracks: at club level he is a fading star, a player who perhaps never quite lived up to his potential. But at international level, while in the autumn of his career, he remains a maestro. Continue reading...