According to Spanish outlet Relevo, Martin Zubimendi plans to stay at Real Sociedad and will not move to Liverpool.
The news will put an end to the saga which has been in the news since the end of EURO 2024. It was revealed in the report that Zubimendi did agree to the move initially but changed his stance. Liverpool were ready to trigger the midfielder’s €60million release clause.
Real Sociedad also did their best to make negotiations difficult as they rebuffed any talks, which forced Liverpool to consider triggering the release clause if they wanted a deal to be completed.
Martin Zubimendi to follow footsteps of legends
The midfielder plans to stay at Real Sociedad for the near future, which falls in line with the ambitions of Basque players. Spaniards from that region in the country are notoriously loyal to their clubs and tend to spent almost all of their careers there.
Some examples are Iker Muniain who just brought his 15-year career at Athletic Club to an end, and David Zurutuza, who spent 13 years with Real Sociedad and retired in 2020.
Martin Zubimendi’s performances at EURO 2024 brought a lot of interest, but Real Sociedad have decided to stand their ground. Relevo have also revealed that Sociedad will make Zubimendi one of the highest paid players at the club.
What do Liverpool do now?
With it looking almost impossible that the Reds will land Martin Zubimendi, the plan is to focus on the current crop of midfielders at the club.
Liverpool will instead rely on Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones to play alongside Alexis Mac Allister in midfield, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also considered as options to play there.
This news will come as a blow to new Head Coach Arne Slot, who said in a recent interview that the club is looking to add players ahead of the Premier League season:
“As a club like we are, we are always looking if we can strengthen the squad but it is not so easy to strengthen the squad, if you saw both games today.
“I said many times before I inherited a real strong team and if we can and if we think it is possible we will strengthen the squad but only if we can and only if we think it is possible.”
Liverpool’s future worries
The lack of transfer movement at anfield has rubbed some people the wrong way, with Virgil Van Dijk commenting on the Reds’ activity after their pre season game against Sevilla. In that interview, the Dutchman also revealed that he is yet to receive a contract offer from the club. Van Dijk’s deal runs out next summer.
