The arrival of Casemiro has already made a huge difference to the balance of the Manchester United midfield but Erik Ten Hag believes that more changes still need to be made.
The pairing of Scott McTominay and Fred has received plenty of criticism over recent years for lacking technical quality and failing to protect the defence.
Immediately after he was appointed, Ten Hag looked to revamp that area of the pitch, starting with deals for Christian Eriksen and Casemiro.
Despite an intense summer-long pursuit of Barcelona’s Frenkie De Jong, a deal couldn’t be struck for the Dutch international.
According to The Express, United have now turned their attention to Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi instead.
Born and raised in San Sebastian, Zubimendi came through the youth ranks at his local club to make his La Liga debut against Getafe in April 2019.
He has since gone on to become a regular, starting in the delayed Copa del Rey final last year as Sociedad beat Athletic Bilbao to lift the trophy for just the third time in their history.
Zubimendi made his debut for the Spanish national team a couple of months later, as several established players were forced to withdraw from the squad following Sergio Busquets’ positive Covid test.
The 23-year-old midfielder hasn’t added to that single cap as yet and was unable to force his way into contention for the World Cup.
Spain have been one of the most impressive sides at the tournament so far, with youngsters Gavi and Pedri garnering plenty of praise for their mature performances.
Man United are weighing up a £52million bid for Zubimendi with Fred set to leave on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season.
He played his potential future employers twice in the Europa League group stage, including a memorable 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
