Real Sociedad are working on signing Brighton & Hove Albion’s Igor Julio to improve their defence.
On Wednesday, El Diario Vasco reported the La Liga club have reached an agreement with the centre-back. They also stated the Seagulls intend to sell this week as he’s not part of their plans.
The Brighton player is on the front page of today’s Mundo Deportivo [Gipuzkoa edition], with ‘a different profile’ written in bold.
The report is about where La Real are currently at in their pursuit, and why they want to bet on the 27-year-old.
Real Sociedad are ‘preparing an offer’ to negotiate with Brighton. Mundo don’t mention a figure, but state it’ll be less than the €15m which the Premier League club reportedly paid for him.
Igor Julio was sidelined for 117 days between January and May due to a hamstring injury. The Spanish club will take this into account when sending an offer to Fabian Hürzeler’s side.
He can also operate as a left-back and is comfortable with three at the back and in a four-man defence. Mundo says the opposition player finds it difficult to dribble past him and there are several qualities that make him attractive for Real Sociedad.
The newspaper states: ‘He has stood out for having a really neat way off the ball, often using dribbling and one-twos to get out of tricky situations. He also has the ability to drive and get through lines with a stride that seems to be better when he is driving than when he has to run backwards.’
Mundo believe the Brighton player doesn’t take full advantage of his 1.88m height and physique in one-on-one battles. Despite this, they expect him to fit in at Real Sociedad.
Igor Julio is aware he has no place at Brighton and is preparing to leave The Amex. The Seagulls also want to get rid of him and this should help Real Sociedad find an agreement for his transfer.
