Liverpool are still waiting for a first signing of the summer but Arne Slot may now be closing in on a major addition in Martin Zubimendi.
The Reds have been through a pretty quiet summer so far.
New boss Arne Slot still hasn’t made a signing and there haven’t been too many high profile exits either.
Joel Matip has gone, Thiago Alcantara has retired and Sepp van den Berg is attracting interest from Germany.
As far as transfer windows go, this one has been remarkably quiet for Liverpool – but it may be about to explode.
HITC understands that Liverpool are pushing to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.
Terry Gibson on Liverpool target Martin Zubimendi
We understood that Zubimendi was reluctant to leave Spain this summer.
However, Liverpool are on their way to convincing Zubimendi into making the move to Anfield this summer.
This would be a huge coup for Liverpool with the chance of a deal looking slim earlier in the window.
Zubimendi has dazzled in La Liga and even impressed in limited minutes at Euro 2024.
England fans were giddy when Rodri went off injured at half time in the Euro 2024 final, only for Zubimendi to come on and shine.
A classy midfielder with composure on the ball, Zubimendi looks to be a great fit for Slot’s style.
La Liga expert Terry Gibson has now delivered his verdict on Zubimendi whilst speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside.
Gibson noted that Zubimendi is an ‘excellent’ player but has managed to slip under the radar of English teams in recent years.
Gibson feels that there isn’t too much of a difference between Zubimendi and Manchester City star Rodri, as shown by his impact in the Euro 2024 final.
The former Tottenham man added that Zubimendi has everything to be an all-round holding player and is actually reminiscent of another former Real Sociedad player – Xabi Alonso.
“He’s very much a holding midfielder,” said Gibson. “He’s an excellent player. He’s slightly gone under the radar in terms of English clubs in the past few years. He fits the bill for any serious team in European football. He’s that good, he really is.”
“It was interesting seeing him come on in the final to replace Rodri and English supporters – I wasn’t one of those, I must admit – that thought ‘oh good Rodri’s gone off, it’s gonna be a help’, because I knew that Zubimendi was coming on and he isn’t as good or as important as Rodri just yet, but there’s not a lot of difference between the two of them.”
“He has everything you need, everything required to be an all-round defensive midfield player. You can’t just have one attribute now, where you break things up and go around tackling, you have to have that attribute that you can be more than comfortable on the ball and if you allow players like that time on the ball, they will hurt you with creative passing that does set attacking play in motion, so he has everything that a modern-day defensive midfielder needs – it’s no longer good enough to just be a destroyer, you have to be more than that and he is that.”
“If anything, and this will please Liverpool supporters I’m sure, he is reminiscent of Xabi Alonso. At Real Madrid, he had that range of passing, he played slightly deeper at Real Madrid than he did at Liverpool but he has similar attributes and, of course, Xabi Alonso played for Real Soceidad, I’m sure he’s an inspiration to Zubimendi,” he added.
Zubimendi now has a chance to follow in Alonso’s footsteps by trading San Sebastian for a move to Anfield.
Convincing Zubimendi to alter his stance on leaving Sociedad is a major coup for Liverpool and a sign of the pulling power the club still has even with Jurgen Klopp now gone.
A player previously branded as ‘extraordinary’ by Xavi, Zubimendi could be the key cog in Slot’s Liverpool midfield for years to come – and he will be able to battle it out with Spain teammate Rodri in some big Premier League clashes along the way.
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