Unless something changes, this will be the second consecutive summer that Athletic Club has not signed a single new player. Instead, the Lions have put their faith in Lezama. That doesn’t mean that they haven’t tried to bring in new faces. This summer they had a deal in place to sign Mikel Merino, but the midfielder ultimately joined Newcastle. Luckily, Athletic’s youth system is one of the best in the world and is constantly turning out quality players who are ready for the first team. Still, the club wants to bring in new talent whenever possible and it looks like they have their sights set on one player in particular.

According to a recent report from Ander Barroso of Marca, Athletic Club have been monitoring the situation of Eibar’s Ander Capa. The right-back is out of contract at the end of this season and has been unwilling to negotiate a new contract. He will be free to talk to other clubs in January and that is exactly when Athletic plan on trying to reach a deal with the 25-year-old.

Copa began his youth career at Danok Bat before joining Lezama in 2002. After three years he left the academy to sign with Eibar’s youth system where he rose through the ranks to eventually join the first team. Since making his debut in 2012, Capa has played in over 160 matches and scored 14 goals. Over the last few years he has been one of the most consistent right-backs in La Liga and would bring depth and quality to Athletic’s squad were he to agree to terms in January.

Right now there is no word on why Capa is refusing to discuss a contract extension. Perhaps he wants to sign with Athletic or someone else in January, or maybe he just doesn’t want to worry about it at this point. Regardless, Eibar want to tie up the 25-year-old as soon as possible and, according to reports, they are willing to make him one of the highest paid players at the club in order to convince him to stay. This will certainly be a story to watch closely as the months pass, but Capa isn’t the only player to keep an eye on. Eibar midfielder Dani Garcia is also out of contract at the end of this season and could be another player that interests Athletic if he doesn’t extend his current deal.

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