Manchester United have added Martin Zubimendi to their list of midfield targets, talkSPORT understands.
Spain Euro 2024 winner Zubimendi, has a £50m release clause in his Real Sociedad contract.
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The 25-year-old is one of a number of targets for the Red Devils as they look to bolster their midfield options ahead of the new season.
United want to add a defensive midfielder to their squad having already held talks with Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte
The Uruguayan is keen on a switch to Old Trafford after falling out of favour with PSG boss Luis Enrique but United appear to be keeping their options open.
A return for last season’s loan signing Sofyan Amrabat is not completely off the table however United are stalling on meeting the terms of a £21.4million purchase clause.
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Zubimendi played the second half of the Euro 2024 final against England, replacing the injured Rodri at half time.
The Spaniard has been compared to former Liverpool and Real Madrid star Xabi Alonso, who also began his glittering career at Real Sociedad.
Alonso has spoken highly of Zubimendi on numerous occasions, even claiming he is the type of player all coaches would like to have having worked with him as coach of Real Sociedad’s B team.
“Martín’s a player all coaches would want,” Alonso said. “He’s generous, he always thinks more about his teammates than himself. He has that ability to generate play, to make those around him better, always offering solutions; to improve the move.
“He understands what the next step is before the ball gets to him. He has that ability to organise the axis. I loved working with him.”
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Zubimendi has lapped up the praise from the Bayer Leverkusen boss and admits he does not tire of receiving plaudits from his footballing hero.
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“He’s an idol, a role model, so I’m delighted that he says nice things about me,” Zubimendi told The Guardian in 2022.
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“I get asked about him so much he must get bored of hearing me talk about him. He’ll be tired of me going on about how good he is,” he added.
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“I wasn’t even with him a full season because of the pandemic but those were lovely months,” Zubimendi says. “It was when he came that I started playing more; with Xabi, I got a run of games. I could feel the affection he had for me, which maybe comes from having the same position. He made a point of trying to show me things, teaching me.
“With him, I learned to recognise and differentiate [types of] presses, overcoming them. Before then, I played the way that more or less came naturally. With him I started to truly understand concepts for bringing the ball out, building play. He insisted a lot on the analysis. We would walk it through, inflatables positioned where the opposition would be.”