Liverpool are flying high this season, with Manchester City’s staggering collapse raising hope that the Premier League title can be lifted at Anfield. Arne Slot’s Reds are currently four points clear with a game in hand, after all.
But the season is long and winding, and the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea have kept hot on Liverpool’s heels, especially so after the Merseyside derby was called off due to adverse weather conditions last weekend.
The festive period is known to foil many a hopeful Premier League team, but Liverpool will be confident in their faculty to overcome any wintry hindrances, especially with key players returning from injury.
Although the Anfield side have eclipsed expectations so far this term, there’s always room for improvement, and it might be wise for FSG to sanction some winter transfer activity.
Why Liverpool need a January signing
Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa have returned to first-team training, which has given a major boost to the fluency and rotation of Liverpool’s frontline.
But several key members of Liverpool’s defence remain sidelined, and though the midfield has been impressive this season, there’s a sense that Liverpool could do with a new part to ensure the hard-working engine room keeps purring as dreams of silver begin to become more concrete over the coming months.
Liverpool missed out on their big summer transfer target last summer, and though this hasn’t affected the midfield, the man in question would have been a wonderful addition – and he might still be.
Liverpool transfer news
As per The Times, Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is growing accustomed to the idea of leaving the Basque Country in 2025, having rejected the concerted efforts of Richard Hughes to bring him to Anfield at the start of the 2024/25 season.
The £50m-rated Spain international’s openness to moving has again ‘alerted’ Slot and co, although he is also on Man City and Arsenal’s radar. Though Liverpool’s summer efforts will potentially hand them a boost, their Premier League rivals will be sure to present compelling cases.
Zubimendi’s decision to reject the Reds’ approach opened the door for an existing member of Slot’s squad, but there’s no reason why the pair cannot cohabit in the number six role.
What Martin Zubimendi would bring to Liverpool
So far this season, Ryan Gravenberch has started every fixture spanning Liverpool’s Premier League and Champions League campaigns, with his withdrawal after the hour mark at St. James’ Park last week making for the first minutes missed all term.
Slot clearly has a lot of trust in the dynamic, press-resistant midfielder, but he looked fatigued at Newcastle. Slot doesn’t favour Alexis Mac Allister in the deep-sitting role and Wataru Endo has scarcely featured all season, his tough-tackling style saved for late moments when Liverpool need grit.
Bringing a player of Zubimendi’s ilk could be the dimension provider that Liverpool need to achieve their lofty goals over the business months of the season.
Last term, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool were knocked out of kilter toward the final stages, burned out, and it’s paramount that the same issue does not strike twice under Slot’s wing, for the Reds are in a fantastic position to claim some silverware before the summer.
Matches (starts)
14 (14)
16 (15)
Goals
0
1
Assists
1
1
Touches*
73.8
68.1
Pass completion
89%
85%
Key passes*
0.6
0.6
Dribbles*
0.9
0.8
Ball recoveries*
5.4
4.4
Tackles + interceptions*
3.9
3.8
Total duels (won)*
5.5 (63%)
5.9 (64%)
Given that Gravenberch has been widely regarded as one of the finest midfielders on English shores this season, it’s curious to note that Zubimendi operates at a similar level over in La Liga, such is his quality, with Spain manager Luis de la Fuente even hailing him as one of “the best centre-midfielders in the world.”
It would be a fantastic deal for Liverpool to make, one that might even elevate Slot’s fledgling project to an even higher level. Who knows, perhaps it would even prove to be the Dutch coach’s own Virgil van Dijk signing.
The club’s towering captain has been a pillar of strength and leadership since he arrived from Southampton in January 2018, in a deal worth £75m – a world record for a defender at the time.
Before Van Dijk’s arrival, Klopp’s Liverpool were an entertaining team with an unforgiving frontline, but they lacked balance and security in the defensive third. It was a team that pulled fans from their seats but threw them back down slumped after error-stricken, authority-bereft defensive displays.
Van Dijk changed all that, rewrote the narrative and supercharged a quest toward the biggest honours. It was he who served as the transformative figure and cemented Klopp’s legacy as one of the greatest in Liverpool’s rich history.
Now, Zubimendi can do the same. The 25-year-old Spaniard is already regarded as a “world-class” player in his homeland, as Spanish football writer Alexandra Johnson has said, and is on the radar of England’s biggest and best outfits.
Like Gravenberch, he plays a loose and influential role in the centre of the field, capable of collecting and driving forward while playing balls to well-placed teammates, who can then surge into dangerous areas. Think of Mohamed Salah, arcing in from the right, finding a sharp delivery that is not only perfectly weighted but posted at the perfect time. With regularity.
He could combine with Trent Alexander-Arnold, while enhancing the qualities of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, perhaps providing the latter with more opportunities to raise his potency in front of goal.
While £50m would be a big winter outlay for FSG, it feels unreasonable to expect Gravenberch to continue without any real competition across the duration of the campaign. Imagine if the Netherlands star picks up a month-long injury in the new year. Detrimental.
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It’s a deal that needs to be completed, especially with Arsenal and City lurking. Having patiently waited to land Van Dijk after missing out in the summer of 2017, perhaps a similar scenario can also occur with regard to Zubimendi’s capture.
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