Barcelona have reportedly dropped their interest in Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.
The 24-year-old continues to be heavily linked with a move away from his Basque club, with a number of teams, including Barcelona, said to be keen on his signature.
Zubimendi has a contract with Real Sociedad until June 2027, but his release clause is believed to be as low as €50m (£43.6m), and a recent report claimed that Arsenal and Manchester United are keen on his signature.
Barcelona have also been heavily linked with him, but according to Mundo Deportivo, the Catalan outfit have decided to drop their interest to pursue a different type of player.
The report claims that Xavi's side want a player with a similar profile to Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni, with Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes, Monaco's Youssouf Fofana and Everton's Amadou Onana all admired.
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Leicester City's Wilfred Ndidi has also been linked with a move to Camp Nou, and he is expected to be available on a free transfer at the end of the campaign.
Onana, meanwhile, could leave Everton next year, with Man United also believed to be admirers of the 22-year-old, who has another three and a half years left to run on his contract at Goodison Park.
A deal for Guimaraes would be complicated due to his status at Newcastle, but Fofana is expected to leave Monaco in 2024 due to the growing interest in his services.
The latter has scored once and provided three assists in 13 appearances for his Ligue 1 side this season, and he will soon enter the final 18 months of his contract.
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Zubimendi could still leave Real Sociedad next year despite Barcelona dropping their interest, with the Spain international said to be attracting the attention of the likes of Bayern Munich, in addition to teams from the Premier League.
The midfielder has scored three times and registered one assist in 23 appearances for his Basque club during the 2023-24 campaign.
Zubimendi has three goals and one assist in 16 La Liga outings, while he has featured five times in the Champions League, with the La Liga team through to the last-16 stage of the competition.
Barcelona did not sign a direct replacement for Sergio Busquets over the summer, and there is already speculation surrounding the future of Oriol Romeu, with Girona expressing a desire to re-sign him.
Bayern's Joshua Kimmich was also linked with a move to Camp Nou over the summer, but Barcelona are believed to have cooled their interest in the Germany international.
Matt Law
