Real Sociedad January transfer window 2025: Real Sociedad keen to retain Martin Zubimendi

Real Sociedad Transfer News, Analysis and Overview- 2024

Real Sociedad is one of the most oldest and prominent clubs in the top tier of Spanish football, La Liga. Founded in 1909, the club has been a part of the footballing ecosystem in Spain across various levels before finding its feet at the top division and becoming a contender with numerous League title wins to its name.

Over the years, Real Sociedad has had big moments throughout its history and has always been at and around the top of La Liga, giving stiff competition to league giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Notably, Sociedad was also one of the founding fathers of La Liga, following its inception in 1929.

According to sources, Real Sociedad currently holds 71 brand sponsorships of which Cazoo is their biggest one. In 2023, the club is said to have made $13.5 million from its many sponsorships, bringing the club valuation to a respectably €443.70 million as of 2024. Owing to the well-funded and well-run management of the club, Sociedad has always managed to keep its head above water and scout top talents from across Basque and the rest of the world.

Real Sociedad Club Performance History

Like a few Spanish clubs, Real Sociedad also has its origins tied to the Basque Country. Making a name for San Sebastián, Sociedad participated in the 1909 Copa Del Rey, under a different name than what it is known today. Eventually, the club would be recognized as Real Sociedad, after King Alfonso XIII, gave the club his patronage in 1910. One of the founding fathers of La Liga, Sociedad marked their first Primera División triumph at the end of the 1980–81 season and defended their title in the following season.

For the most part, the club has been a mainstay in the Liga since its inception in 1929. That said, its longest spell in the Primera División was from 1967 to 2007. Unfortunately, the club was relegated at the end of the 2005-2006 season, before making their return shortly after. Undoubtedly, the club enjoyed one of its best spells in history in the early 2000s, managing to be runners-up in the 2002–03 season, which saw the team pull off many big wins.

In recent years, the club has managed to finish their seasons in European qualification berths, finishing fourth in the 2022–23, which marked a return to the Champions League for the first time in 10 years. While the club managed to give a solid account for themselves, they are yet to establish themselves as a permanent fixture for the competition.

Real Sociedad Transfer 2024 Challenges & criticisms

For a while, it appeared as though the club was struggling to get going in the new season before a recent change of fortunes seemingly steadied the ship. By all means it has been a mixed run of form with the club with shock losses to the likes of Espanyol, Alaves, and Mallorca. At the same time, their win against FC Barcelona was a sign of a return to normal form.

That said, it remains to be seen whether the club has managed to adequately replace their outgoings from the summer. After all, the club lost two of it’s best players in Robin Le Normand and Mikel Merino who moved to Atletico Madrid and Arsenal in the summer, respectively. While Sociedad did manage to bring in quite a few bodies and add to the squad’s depth, there has been a feeling of whether or not the replacements are of the desired quality.

Real Sociedad Transfer Strategy and Philosophy

For the most part, much like their Basque-based rivals Athletic Club, Real Sociedad followed a strict policy of looking to recruit players from the region itself. All things considered, this strategy has often yielded them some great talents with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Xabi Alonso, and many other top talents coming through their ranks. To date, the club maintains a strong core and relies on its roots for a rich supply of talent.

At the same time, the club has since opened the door to recruiting from abroad, bringing in the likes of Irish forward player John Aldridge in 1989. This was followed by the recruitment of English striker, Dalian Atkinson of Sheffield Wednesday in the subsequent season, with both managing to have a good impact for the team. As such, the club whilst having a Spanish core, has time and again brought in players of different nationalities from within the League and from across Europe.

Most Expensive Real Sociedad Transfers

For the most part, Real Sociedad is not a club that looks to spend big money on signings but rather focuses on identifying targets that they can acquire for a suitable fee, without having to pay over the odds. As such it will be surprising to many that the club’s record signings have all been under €20 million. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the club’s most expensive transfers.

To date, Umar Sadiq remains the club’s record signing, coming in from UD Almería for €20.00m in 2022-2023. Following that we have Orri Óskarsson from FC Copenhagen who arrived this summer for a fee of €20.00m. Next on the list is former Real Madrid player Asier Illarramendi who arrived in 2015-2016 for a fee of €16.00m.

Following these up, we have the likes of their former talisman Alexander Isak who arrived in the 2019-2020 season for €15.00m from Borussia Dortmund. The next name on the list is Brais Méndez who arrived from Celta Vigo in 2022-2023 for a fee of €14.00m.

Real Sociedad Transfer New Signings 2024/25

By all means, the 2024-2025 summer window was a big one for the club and saw the arrival of some known quantities and some up-and-coming talents. During the window, the Real Sociedad splurged €69.85m on transfers which is yet to yield them any big results in La Liga this season. That said, there are signs of growing improvement in the squad.

Up first is the club’s marquee signing this summer, the aforementioned Orri Óskarsson secured from FC Copenhagen for €20.00m. In addition to this, Croatian midfielder Luka Sucic was brought in by the club, coming in from RB Salzburg for €10.00m.

In addition to this, winger Sergio Gómez was poached away from Manchester City for a handy €9.00m, whilst Javi Lopez from Alaves arrived for €6.50m. Lastly, the club managed to secure Nayef Aguerd on loan from West Ham.

Real Sociedad Transfers All Outgoing 2024/25

Naturally, Real Sociedad also had a lot to do in terms of making room for their new signings and making up for departures that had left a gap in the overall quality of the squad. Additionally, there were also players that needed to be moved on and some that were sent out on loan in search of better minutes.

Firstly, Robin Le Normand was snapped up by Liga giants Atletico Madrid for a reasonable €34.50m, which is the club’s second-highest departure. Following him out the door was Mikel Merino, who returned to the Premier League with Arsenal for €32.00m. Similarly, Diego Rico was also sold to Getafe for €1.50m whilst Alex Sola went to the same for €1.50m.

At the same time, Robert Navarro and Roberto López were moved on for €850k and on free to Mallorca and Leganes respectively while Jon Karrikaburu has been sent out on loan to Racing Club.

Top Signings for Real Sociedad in 2024/25

All things considered, there are still a lot of games left to be played with the midpoint of the season rapidly approaching. That said, Real Sociedad currently sits in 9th place and has been a bit of a mixed bag for the most part. The team has been massively struggling and despite their quality have managed 6 wins and 6 losses in the new season so far.

As of now Javi Lopez and Sergio Gomez have become regular starters in the team and have been playing relatively well for the middling Real Sociedad side.

Worst Signings for Real Sociedad in 2024/25

As mentioned previously, the departures of players like Robin Le Normand and Mikel Merino have created clear frailties within the spine of the team and left a certain void in terms of leadership. Regardless, the team has an abundance of talent who are slowly growing into the team and starting to show their quality.

With a lot of the season still remaining, it will be interesting to see how they can kick on and whether the players are able to justify their position.

Real Sociedad Transfer Spend Till Now

All things said, it was a busy summer transfer window for Real Sociedad with a number of new signings and departures. By the end of it, the club saw a profit of €24.35m, having spent €45.50m whilst raking in €69.85m with their outgoings. Certainly a good bit of business by the club, it also makes re-investing into the squad all the more possible.

As such, it remains to be seen whether these numbers see any change during the January transfer window with incomings or players being sold or sent out on loan.