‘They believe…’ – Romano shares how Zubimendi is now viewed by Liverpool after transfer snub
Liverpool had to wait until the final week of the summer transfer window before confirming any new signings, but that wouldn’t have been the case if it weren’t for Martin Zubimendi snubbing the Reds earlier in August.
LFC were willing to pay the midfielder’s €60m (£51m) release clause but he instead opted to remain with Real Sociedad, with no positional alternatives coming to Anfield prior to last Friday’s deadline.
In the latest episode of The Debrief podcast, Fabrizio Romano was asked if Richard Hughes will go back in for the Spain international when the market reopens in January.
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The transfer guru replied: “I have no idea at this moment; it’s too early. At the moment Liverpool are not even commenting on this, but what I’m sure about is that Liverpool didn’t want to negotiate for any other number 6 this summer because they believe that the perfect player for this position was Martin Zubimendi.
“They are not going to sign any other player for the sake of it. If they invest in a player it’s because they are 100% convinced, so I’m sure that Martin Zubimendi will remain on Liverpool’s list. Whether it’s January or next summer or never, we will see. It will depend also on what Liverpool want to do. At the end of the day it was the player who decided to stay at Real Sociedad.
“There are many factors before deciding if Liverpool will try again in January or not, but I can confirm that the appreciation is still there. They still believe that Zubimendi could be a perfect player for the tactical idea they have at the club, so let’s see. The appreciation remains.”
If Liverpool are fully convinced that Zubimendi is the man to enhance Arne Slot’s midfield and give the team its optimum number 6, then we ought not to rule out a renewed attempt to lure the 25-year-old in the January transfer window.
However, the Spaniard may have burned his bridges with a lot of Reds fans for turning down the opportunity to come to Anfield last month when every other part of the jigsaw appeared to be in place for the move to go through.
As it happens, Ryan Gravenberch has been excelling in that area of the pitch in the early weeks of the season, even if a definitive judgement on his suitability for the role ought to be reserved for a little while longer once we come up against the cream of the crop in the Premier League and Champions League.
Although it’s evident that Liverpool will only sign players who they’re fully convinced will enhance Slot’s side, we’d like to think that when January comes around, they’ll at least have a Plan B to call upon if Plan A doesn’t work out.
The Zubimendi door doesn’t seem to be permanently bolted just yet, but the Anfield hierarchy would be wise not to place all their eggs in that particular basket after the events of last month.
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