Liverpool are one of the only sides in the top five leagues in Europe yet to make a signing this transfer window. Arne Slot’s first summer in charge has been as quiet as it gets despite being linked with a few names.
Slot’s tactical setup at Liverpool in the games that we’ve seen so far has been fascinating. His Reds team line up similar to how Roberto de Zerbi’s Brighton used to play, baiting the opponent into a press and then trying to play their way out from the back.
The idea behind this is to lure the opponent into pushing high up before breaking upfield with a series of quick, intricate passes to bypass the press and catch the defence out of shape. To play this style of football, what the manager needs is a proper #6.
De Zerbi had Moises Caicedo and later, Billy Gilmour to help him play this style of football. Sadly for Liverpool and Slot, Endo is good at many things but turning under pressure and escaping his man is not one of them.
Thus, the Reds looked in the market for a new #6 who is good at doing this and identified Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi as a potential target. However, the Spanish Euros winner turned down the opportunity to move to Anfield.
Ahead of the La Liga side’s season opener, manager Imanol Alguacil was quizzed about the 25-year-old. Here is what he had to say as quoted by reliable Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.
“We have to be proud of Zubimendi, he said no to Liverpool despite big money they offered him. For me Real Sociedad is the biggest club and I believe Zubimendi thought the same so he decided to reject #LFC bid”
Zubimendi’s admiration for the Basque club is well documented and he has yet again shown his commitment by turning down a high-profile transfer. Liverpool now have a few weeks left to identify a different #6 for the position.
If Liverpool fail to sign a player for the position, Slot will have to make do with Endo, Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones to fill that role and hope they can play with their back to goal to receive passes and turn under pressure. Let’s see how the Dutchman adapts to the options he has in the coming games.
