Midfielder Martin Zubimendi has turned down the offer from Liverpool. The 25 year old has decided to stay at Real Sociedad and will not join the Merseyside club. The Reds have faced yet another rejection in their pursuit for a new number 6. The club was confident about signing Zubimendi and were offering him huge wages for his signature.
The 25 year old has chosen loyalty to his local club over money. He has been a part of the Basque club’s academy and is a fan of his childhood club. Arne Slot will be thoroughly disappointed as he had been speaking to his agents explaining the project to the Spaniard. Liverpool are ready to pay his release clause but the player has accepted Sociedad’s new contract. He is getting less wages than he would have got at the Merseyside club.
The Spanish club were on the verge of losing both Zubimendi and Mikel Merino this summer. They made an attempt to retain atleast one of them, to which the 25 year old accepted. Liverpool have also been rejected by quite a few players recently. The Reds have dealt a major blow to their plans as they must search for other alternatives with just few weeks remaining for the transfer window to close.
If they fail to sign a new anchorman this season, they will be left with Gravenberch and Endo as the deep midfielders. The Japanese international is quite efficient but he is 31 years old. They need another midfielder to reduce the pressure on these two and improve the squad depth.
Slot decides pivot pair as they receive a major blow to their plans
In the post match review new boss Arne Slot revealed his midfield strategy. Liverpool were ready to sign Martin Zubimendi but he spoiled their plans. He has chosen Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch as his main options to start against Ipswich Town this week. The duo featured in the preseason friendlies for the Reds and have impressed the manager.
The manager also reveals that he can also start Dominik Szoboszlai as their number six incase someone is not fit to play full 90 minutes. The scouts have been assigned to look for another number six immediately as they are desperate to sign one this season. Expectations are always high on Liverpool and the pressure is on the new manager as well. Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister are also reliable options in the deeper role.
The manager is confident about his plans regarding the midfield scenario. He says;
“I have quite a good idea which player suits there at this moment in my opinion best. But we are only one week working together with some players. Sometimes you feel this is the best number six but then the combination with the other two might not work out that well. It’s not to say the ones who played today will play next week or the weeks after. We are still in a situation where we are constantly evaluating which is the best line-up for us.”
Liverpool starts their Premier league campaign Saturday against Ipswich Town. The Reds are excited about this season, as they are starting a new era under Arne Slot.
Liverpool in trouble!
As Martin Zubimendi has rejected Liverpool, the club could head into the season without a new midfielder. The Reds have faced many injury problems last season and were desperate to improve the squad depth this season. Rivals Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United have added many new signings to improve their squad from the last season. Liverpool’s transfer window can be labelled ‘flop’ because they haven’t even explored any alternatives for the midfield position.
The fullback position is also under scrutiny. Football pundits have expressed that this can hurt Liverpool’s title hopes this season. Robertson and Trent are injury prone. They do not have any experienced backups as well. This summer window might go down as one of the worst ones in their recent history. Thiago Alcantara has also retired this season, and the club is yet to find his replacement.
Talks were ongoing to sell Luis Diaz to cash in for the Colombian and sign a new winger. Md Salah is also nearing his end at Anfield and there is no replacement of him. Liverpool are heading towards the path of self destruction if these failures continue. The club must offload deadwood players and bring new ones in the winter window if they fail to sign them in this window. The manager has a huge mountain to climb in his new adventure at Anfield.
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