Agirrezabala nearing Racing move as Athletic talks progress | OneFootball

Athletic are advancing their departures, and after the sales of Unai Gómez, Izeta and Vesga for around seven million, the next to leave could be Julen Agirrezabala, with Racing emerging as his destination. As reported by as.com, talks with Athletic have resumed after weeks of back and forth and are progressing, though details remain before any agreement.

Racing sporting director Chema Aragón said this week that Agirrezabala had been their first choice and that all parties knew it. He also described the deal as unviable under the terms Athletic initially set, adding that the club had shifted focus to another target.

The Hungarian Yaakobishvili was on their agenda, and it now appears that was a tactical play to prompt Ibaigane to move. Should this deal progress, Athletic would then seek solutions for Vencedor and Gorosabel.

Agirrezabala is coming off a bittersweet loan at Valencia after injury curtailed his progress. He is under contract at Athletic until 2027, with Ibaigane holding a unilateral option to extend that to 2029.

The 2024 Cup hero has lacked minutes behind the formidable Unai Simón, a European and world champion. Athletic prefer a permanent sale, with strong goalkeeping prospects behind, while Racing have pushed for a loan to reduce costs on a salary considered high for them.

Another option being discussed is to split a percentage of his federative rights between the clubs.

Source: as.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”