Brighton & Hove Albion may be set for some frustration regarding Real Sociedad and Igor Julio.
The defender has been strongly linked with La Real over the past week or so and in recent days it’s looked like a transfer was imminent.
The 27-year-old made 16 appearances for Brighton last season with his campaign severely hit by a hamstring injury and Fabian Hürzeler then not being keen once the Brazilian returned.
Parting ways has therefore been on the cards and for Brighton it would be much better to do so sooner rather than later, giving them some clarity about what aspects of the squad need adjusting before the start of the Premier League season.
However, Real Sociedad don’t appear to be in any rush at all.
Speaking to the club’s local media, president Jokin Aperribay confirmed interest in Igor Julio and Equi Fernández of Al-Qadisiyah, but made it clear there’s nothing imminent.
Diario Vasco quote Aperribay as saying: “If you ask me if something will happen soon, no, nothing will happen. We’ll see how the week or weeks go by. But both conversations are real.”
What Brighton need to be aware of, and almost certainly will be, is there’s a very real chance the Basque club work to drag this out before trying to get a cheaper deal or even a loan at the end of the window.
That happened with Nayef Aguerd last year, who moved from West Ham to Real Sociedad on loan on August 30th.