Liverpool made just the one permanent summer signing in Federico Chiesa, though Arne Slot was close to adding Martin Zubimendi.
The Real Sociedad maestro was strongly linked with a move to Anfield fresh off winning Euro 2024 with Spain, though Zubimendi ultimately decided to reject Liverpool’s advances to remain with his boyhood club in San Sebastian.
With Liverpool once again linked with Zubimendi, there’s a growing sense that the 25-year-old midfielder could finally be set to make the move to the Premier League, with Arsenal also interested in the La Liga star.
And Slot has now dropped an interesting new hint on how Zubimendi could have performed had he joined Liverpool.
Zubimendi would have been ‘comfortable’ in Liverpool’s system
Speaking on Between The Lines, the Anfield manager strongly suggested that Zubimendi would have been well-suited to play as a no. 6 in his Liverpool system, with Slot seemingly naming the Sociedad midfielder without saying his name out loud.
Talking to Rio Ferdinand about his use of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch as a double-pivot, Slot mentioned how he likes his deep-lying midfielders to be able to bring the ball forward out of the defence and into the attackers where chances can be created.
And Slot seemingly suggests that Zubimendi could have done this role perfectly for Liverpool, even with the Reds finding their dream midfield-pairing this season already in Mac Allister and Gravenberch, who Jamie Carragher likened to Patrick Vieira earlier in the campaign.
Slot said: “I even think the player that we wanted to bring in, which I think is out in the open, was also a player that was really comfortable, and still is really comfortable, on the ball and can bring the ball from the last line to our forwards.”
Could Liverpool still sign Zubimendi this year?
Liverpool’s interest in Zubimendi seems to have never gone away despite the midfielder rejecting the Reds so publically back in the summer, with the Reds now facing greater competition for the Spanish international from Arsenal.
Yet there is a chance that the Reds could still land the 25-year-old, with Fabrizio Romano saying Zubimendi is yet to agree a move to Arsenal, an update that could Liverpool hope that they might be able to land the Sociedad star.
Indeed, Zubimendi’s future and what he does next will be a fascinating watch for supporters, and Liverpool fans will be confident that the Basque playmaker opts to make the move to Merseyside rather than north London this year.
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