**Real Sociedad sporting director Roberto Olabe says Manchester City target Martin Zubimendi is unlikely to leave the La Liga side during the January transfer window.**
The 25-year-old reportedly has a €60m (£50m) buyout fee in his contract but Olabe believes such clauses mean nothing if the player isn’t interested in moving clubs:
“There’s little peace of mind about the clauses, but throughout this time Martin himself has shown us that above the clauses are the will. So far, we have seen how he has behaved, I don’t foresee any scares in January.”
From the sound of things, Olabe is confident that Zubimendi won’t change his transfer stance in the near future.
City are one of 3 Premier League clubs keeping tabs on the midfielder
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Pep Guardiola’s side, Arsenal and Liverpool have all been heavily linked with Zubimendi, but the player is very reluctant to leave San Sebastian.
He has admitted that he was very tempted to join Liverpool in the summer but he ultimately decided to stay in Spain.
Zubimendi had already been ruled out as a target for January
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_The Athletic_ journalist Sam Lee reported at the weekend that the Cityzens had [**decided against making a move**](https://mancitynews.com/man-city-transfer-news-bruno-guimaraes-martin-zubimendi-fans/) for the Spanish international next month.
With Zubimendi seemingly not interested in the transfer, it is not surprising that the Premier League champions have opted to look at other targets instead.
Nonetheless, it will still be a disappointment for fans that a midfielder of his quality will not be plying his trade at the Etihad this season.
The club desperately need to bring in reinforcements in the middle of the park, with Rodri unlikely to play again until June, so an alternative will need to be sought out.
[**Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here**](https://mancitynews.com/manchester-city-first-team-squad-2024-25/)