Real Sociedad pursue Nayef Aguerd as pre-season campaign takes shape

Real Sociedad are pursuing a deal to sign defender Nayef Aguerd from Olympique de Marseille, with Foot Mercato reporting that the 30-year-old Moroccan international is set to join the Basque club on loan with an obligation to buy. Aguerd is reported to be in talks over a possible departure from Marseille, and Real Sociedad have identified him as a target to bring back to Spain. Real Sociedad de Fútbol, founded on 7 September 1909 and based in San Sebastián in the Basque Country, is one of Spanish football's established clubs, playing its home matches at the 40,000-capacity Anoeta Stadium. The club is known in Basque as Erreala or Reala. The reported move comes as Real Sociedad's pre-season campaign takes shape. The club played Aston Villa in a friendly in Portugal on July 28, 2026, a match that saw Villa manager Unai Emery face a former La Liga rival, and followed it with a friendly against Toulouse FC at the Stade Maurice-Trélut in Tarbes, France, on July 31, 2026. Whether the Aguerd deal has been completed is not yet clear.

Real Sociedad move for Marseille defender Nayef Aguerd

Real Sociedad are pursuing a deal to bring Marseille defender Nayef Aguerd back to Spain, according to reports. The 30-year-old Moroccan international is said to be in talks over a possible departure from Olympique de Marseille, with the Basque club identifying him as a transfer target.

Foot Mercato reports that Aguerd is set to join Real Sociedad on loan, with the agreement including an obligation to buy. The move, if completed, would mark a return to Spanish football for the defender.

None of the transfer claims have been confirmed by the clubs involved, and it remains unclear whether the reported loan arrangement has been finalised. It is also not known when Real Sociedad began their pursuit of the player. Reports have so far relied on sources close to the negotiations rather than official statements.

Aguerd's potential arrival would come as Real Sociedad shape their squad ahead of the new season, adding an experienced international to their defensive options should the deal go through as reported.

Pre-season tests against Aston Villa and Toulouse

Real Sociedad's preparations for the new season included two friendlies in late July 2026, according to reports. The Basque side faced Aston Villa on July 28, 2026, in a match played in Portugal. The fixture carried an added subplot: Villa manager Unai Emery was facing a former La Liga rival from his years coaching in Spain.

Three days later, on July 31, 2026, Real Sociedad took on Toulouse FC in another pre-season club friendly. That match was staged at the Stade Maurice-Trélut in Tarbes, France, according to reports.

The results of both friendlies have not yet been reported. The fixtures form part of a busy summer for the San Sebastián club, which has been balancing its on-pitch preparations with activity in the transfer market as the new campaign approaches.

1. 7 September 1909

   Real Sociedad was founded in San Sebastián in the Basque Country.

2. December 2020

   Real Sociedad entered a match against Barcelona in first place, while Barcelona sat eighth.

3. early April 2025

   Real Madrid hosted Real Sociedad in the second leg of a Copa del Rey semifinal, having won the first leg 1-0 in San Sebastián.

4. 28 July 2026

   Aston Villa played Real Sociedad in a pre-season friendly in Portugal, with manager Unai Emery facing a former La Liga rival.

5. 31 July 2026

   Toulouse FC played Real Sociedad in a pre-season club friendly at Stade Maurice-Trélut in Tarbes, France.

A Basque institution founded in 1909

Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional sports club based in San Sebastián in the Basque Country. Founded on 7 September 1909, it is one of the region's oldest football institutions. In English the club is known simply as Real Sociedad; in Basque it goes by Erreala or Reala, names that reflect its deep roots in local identity.

The football team plays its home matches at Anoeta Stadium, which holds 40,000 spectators. The ground has long served as the centre of the club's sporting life in the city.

The name is not unique to Spain. A separate professional football club, Club Deportivo Real Sociedad, is based in Tocoa, Colón, in Honduras, and is also commonly known as Real Sociedad. The two clubs share a name but nothing else; the transfer activity and fixtures covered elsewhere in this article concern the Spanish side.

Recent history: Copa del Rey run and a title-race moment

Real Sociedad's recent past has included nights on some of Spanish football's biggest stages. In early April 2025, the club travelled to the Bernabéu for the second leg of a Copa del Rey semifinal against Real Madrid, trailing after a 1-0 first-leg defeat in San Sebastián, according to reports. The outcome of that second leg is not known from available accounts.

Further back, the club briefly found itself at the summit of La Liga. Reports recall that ahead of a December 2020 meeting with Barcelona, Real Sociedad entered the match in first place, while Barcelona sat eighth — a striking inversion of the usual order. The result of that fixture is likewise not recorded in the material at hand, but the standings alone underlined a season in which the San Sebastián side briefly led the Spanish title race.

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