Martin Zubimendi reacts to surge in Man City transfer speculation | OneFootball

Martin Zubimendi has reiterated his desire to stay at Real Sociedad amid growing speculation of a Manchester City approach in the upcoming January transfer window.

Zubimendi was courted by Arsenal last season prior to the Gunners landing clubmate Mikel Merino, and turned down a potential move to Liverpool in the summer, having briefly shown interest in the possibility. He has also been linked with domestic giants Barcelona and Real Madrid at various points.

The links with City have particularly emerged since Rodri suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Zubimendi was a teammate of Rodri's in Spain's triumphant Euro 2024-winning squad and has been a key part of Real Sociedad re-establishing themselves as regular European qualifiers.

"There are always rumours but, so far, I've always thought that the best solution for me is staying at Real Sociedad," he said this week in response to the latest surge of transfer gossip.

"I've still a lot of things to give to this club, I still want to grow and develop here."

Rodri's injury sparked Man City transfer interest / Michael Regan/GettyImages

Zubimendi had only recently already seemed to rule out leaving Real Sociedad in January.

Just last week, the 25-year-old insisted he had no regrets about not moving during summer.

"It is true that I was a bit uncomfortable with everything, especially because of the noise, and in the end, I isolated myself and made the decision that I thought was the right one," he said.

"You can rest easy in winter," he tellingly added at that time.

"Of course I don't regret [staying]. I made my decision from within, I thought it was the best thing to do, the results don't affect me. I see potential in this [Real Sociedad] team, you just have to watch us train. I'm excited about having a good season."