The identity of Liverpool’s latest transfer target certainly does not take Jamie Carragher by surprise.
You only need look back at Feyenoord’s 2023 Eredivisie-winning team to work out what Arne Slot wants from the player operating at the base of his free-flowing midfield.
At De Kuip, it was Mats Wieffer.
The £25 million Brighton and Hove Albion newbie was fast-tracked into the Feyenoord starting XI and emerged as a talismanic presence at the heart of the pitch, dictating the play and slotting effortlessly into a possession-based gameplan.
So when Slot’s Liverpool stepped up their pursuit of a ‘number six’ in the final month of the window, the six-time European Champions were never going to target an old-school destroyer in the mould of – say – former Fulham powerhouse Joao Palhinha.
Paul Scholes, speaking to The Overlap, thinks Liverpool missed a trick not going for the £47 million Bayern Munich signing.
But Carragher has a different view.
He feels that any midfielder in Slot’s system – a typically Dutch, Johan Cruyff-influenced ‘Total Voetbal’ style – must be more of a deep-lying playmaker than a bone-rattling ankle-biter.
Liverpool close in on Spain star Martin Zubimendi
HITC understands that Martin Zubimendi has emerged as Liverpool’s first-choice target. Talks are progressing between The Reds and Real Sociedad.
Liverpool are expected to trigger the £51 million release clause in Zubimendi’s contract – albeit they want to pay it in instalments – with Slot both delighted and excited at the prospect of working alongside the man who helped wrestle the momentum in Spain’s favour when he replaced Rodri midway through the Euro 2024 final victory over England.
“When you think of Dutch coaches, you think of ‘Total Voetbal’,” Carragher says. “I am not sure Arne Slot is going to bring that (Palhinha) type of footballer. I think he’s looking for someone who can get on the ball and play.
“Mac Allister did that role a lot last season.”
Now, Zubimendi is certainly more attuned to the demands of a number six than Mac Allister; an ‘incredibly creative’ footballer who is more effective higher up the pitch.
But whether he is the man Liverpool need to fill that Fabinho-shaped void, remains to be seen.
Jamie Carragher says Arne Slot’s side have one weakness
For all of Zubimendi’s obvious on-the-ball talents – he told The Guardian that Anfield hero Xabi Alonso is his ‘idol’ – the former Arsenal and Barcelona target may have a few difficulties adapting to the physical demands and the pace of English football.
Zubimendi notably struggled in Champions League clashes last season with more aggressive, mobile opposition. Particularly during the round-of-16 defeat which saw Real Sociedad bow out at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
Carragher feels Liverpool are crying out for a midfielder with ‘legs and energy’.
Zubimendi is not, however, the type who will go haring around the pitch to break up opposition attacks before starting new ones in Liverpool’s favour.
Up against more high-octane Premier League sides, could the Spaniard cope?