Arne Slot is yet to sign a player this summer following his appointment as Liverpool manager.
Ask the Liverpool supporters and there are many areas of the pitch they want their team to enhance, including the middle of the park.
So, the fans would have been rightfully annoyed when the news about Martin Zubimendi broke on Monday night.
Sources have told HITC what Real Sociedad now believe about Zubimendi to Liverpool transfer, as he has rejected the chance to move to Anfield.
This doesn’t help matters at all for the Merseyside club because more midfield legs were needed ahead of the Premier League opener.
The Reds open their Premier League campaign by travelling to Portman Road to take on newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
You wonder if Slot will change his mind about who plays the number six role for Liverpool this season because Wataru Endo is best suited to that role.
But Jamie Carragher thinks the 31-year-old is the ‘opposite’ of what Slot wants from that position and how he has tried every other player in that role during pre-season.
As a result, Carragher is expecting Endo, who only joined last summer, to make a shock exit and be sold, as he told Blood Red.
You wonder how much that will change given the unwanted Zubimendi news, but Carragher thinks Endo isn’t the guy for the new Liverpool manager.
Wataru Endo tipped to leave Liverpool
“I think that last pre-season game, we all knew as players when we were playing, if you are in the team in that last standout pre-season game, then you have a great chance of playing,” said Carragher.
“It looked like he had Gravenberch in that number six position, it will be interesting who he puts there if he gets the signing that he wants from Real Sociedad over the line before then.
“I think the standout thing for me, in terms of the holding midfield position, the fact that we put in a bid for a player and also the manager has played every single player in that role, except Endo. I know he played him at the start of the tour of America. Was that against Betis? I didn’t see the game, but I saw some reports that he found it difficult. I think Endo will go. I am pretty confident of that. It almost looks like he is completely the opposite of what he (Slot) wants in that role. It doesn’t mean that he is a bad player. It just means that when a manager wants to play a slightly different type of game, tactics or set-up. I think he will play virtually everybody there instead of Endo actually – that’s why I think he will move on.”
Liverpool’s transfer window
There have been no incomings at the club, but the outgoings are starting to pick up.
Liverpool have begun a max exodus with Fabio Carvalho joining Brentford and more could follow in these coming weeks.
But if the team don’t strengthen the squad, then it will only send negative ripple effects among the fans and it will find its way onto the pitch.
Not forgetting that several players – Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah are out of contract next summer – Ally McCoist has been left stunned that van Dijk hasn’t been offered a new contract.
Liverpool have also been told Alexander-Arnold will leave following his latest actions, with the powers that be on Merseyside having to get a grip of things because they could get out of hand.