Real Madrid had never made an offer for midfielder prior to his Arsenal move | OneFootball

In the early parts of the summer, Martin Zubimendi was destined to join Arsenal, with even Fabrizio Romano putting out his customary ‘here we go’ for the transfer.

However, after a period of silence, Real Madrid emerged as a sudden contender to sign the Spanish midfielder, who was supposed to be on his way to the Emirates.

Reports claimed that Real Madrid opted to make a late move for the Real Sociedad star, but the move ultimately did not materialise, with the player eventually joining Arsenal.

Real Madrid never made an offer for Zubimendi

However, a recent report from Ben Jacobs has suggested that Real Madrid never really made any concrete efforts to sign Zubimendi.

As per the journalist, Real Madrid had never made any offer to Real Sociedad to sign Zubimendi and were behind Arsenal in the race.

The Gunners, in fact, remained confident of completing the Zubimendi capture until the very end, even when Spanish media claimed Real Madrid were pushing ahead for a deal.

Martin Zubimendi will play for the Gunners next season (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Arsenal were confident about signing the Spanish international as early as January, which indicates that Real Madrid never really had the chance to sign the player.

Having missed out on the Spaniard, Real Madrid must shift focus to other market alternatives as they continue their search for a new midfielder.

The club have recently roped in Argentine starlet Franco Mastantuono, but the River Plate star will operate more as an attacking midfielder of sorts.

Real Madrid, for their part, would ideally require a new defensive midfielder who can serve as a long-term replacement for Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, who is set to quit after the Club World Cup and has already joined AC Milan.

Modric, though, won’t announce his move to AC Milan until he plays out his contract as a sign of respect for the team.