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Featured Image Credit: Real Oviedo
Topics: Santi Cazorla, Arsenal, Qatar, La Liga, Villarreal
Josh Lawless
Topics: Santi Cazorla, Arsenal, Qatar, La Liga, Villarreal
Former Arsenal captain Santi Cazorla is set for a shock final transfer to boyhood club Real Oviedo, reports in Spain say.
The Spain midfielder is now 38 and has been playing over in Qatar with Al Sadd since July 2020.
But he has no plans to retire just yet, with La Nueva Espana, via AS saying Cazorla dreams of heading back to his local team for one last hurrah.
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Cazorla turned out for Oviedo when he was a youngster before moving to Villarreal for the first of three spells with the Yellow Submarine in 2003, after his academy club became embroiled in financial difficulties.
The ex Malaga man's contract with Al Sadd expires in June and it's said there has been continuous contact between Cazorla and Oviedo.
Cazorla, who was once told he would be lucky to walk again after suffering an achilles tendon injury, has a good relationship with the club's owner Arturo Elias and wants to play for the Oviedo first-team having only previously turned out for the youth side.
In the summer, Federico Gonzalez, the club's main shareholder, revealed they were keen on singing Cazorla and another former Oviedo youth product, Juan Mata and that conversations had taken place.
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The pair both bought shares in the club back in 2012.
Oviedo are currently playing in the the Spanish second division and so the two-time FA Cup winner would have to take a hefty pay cut in order to make the move.
However, it's not been a problem for Cazorla's former Arsenal teammate Lucas Perez.
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He dropped down the leagues to join third tier Deportivo la Coruna and paid nearly half of his own transfer fee to seal the switch from La Liga outfit Cadiz.
Perez has scored twice in three games for the one-time Champions League semi-finalists and is hoping to fire them to promotion to the second tier.