It looks like Martin Zubimendi will be the first big signing of the Arne Slot era.
In fact, he’ll be the first arrival under the new football operations team, with Michael Edwards as Football CEO and Richard Hughes Sporting Director.
David Ornstein has reported that Liverpool have turned Zubimendi’s head and the Spaniard will sign a contract with the Reds once a transfer fee has been finalised with Real Sociedad. This won’t be a problem given the fact the 25-year-old has a £51m release-clause. It looks like it will be done and dusted by the end of the week.
At the time of writing, Liverpool are the only club in Europe’s top five leagues who are yet to sign a player this summer, but the excitement around the likely Zubimendi arrival has silenced the moaners – especially with Fabrizio Romano promising that Liverpool’s business will not be done when the midfielder arrives.
Zubimendi’s imminent arrival as Liverpool’s no.6 is entirely indicative of Slot’s tactical approach.
The Dutchman demands controlled, probing possession. The style, as evidenced in our friendlies in the USA, will be less Heavy Metal and more Manchester City. The midfield will control the tempo of the games. They will keep the ball and build opportunities through the lines. The two deepest midfielders will dominate. Under Jurgen Klopp, the midfield was often bypassed with long diagonals from the fullbacks or Virgil van Dijk, but now the defenders will play through the midfielders instead.
That’s why Slot needs technically brilliant midfielders in his double-pivot as an absolute necessity.
It’s why Wataru Endo has been ruthlessly declared surplus to requirements. Don’t be surprised to see the Japan captain leave before the month is out.
Zubimendi is a terrific, if un-flashy technician. He’s not as smooth on the ball as Thiago was, but he can do similar things. He can pick up the ball on the half-turn, while being pressured and still play forward. Zubimendi is not an especially exciting footballer. His highlight reel is largely boring. But he’s mightily efficient. He keeps the ball. He wins the ball. He progresses the ball. The most similar comparison in terms of elite midfielders is Declan Rice. You often don’t notice him, but the gap left in his absence is enormous.
We won’t be making such a big signing if Slot isn’t planning on using Zubimendi as a starter, so it’d be safe to assume that the Euros winner will quite often be in our starting XI.
Who starts with him? Our best midfielder is World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentine surely slots in next to Zubimendi as part of the two with either Harvey Elliott or Dom Szoboszlai further ahead.
Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch are great options in that both can play deeper or in the advanced position. With so many games, everyone will feature, as will Stefan Bajcetic, a great option in the pivot.
But the thought of a Mac-Zubi midfield base really is mouthwatering, especially considering the type of football Slot wants us to play.
They can keep the ball, they can tackle, they can shimmy past opponents and ping clever balls to the plethora of offensive talent in front. Neither are reckless, though. They won’t be caught out of position. They can form a defensive base that will give the backline far more protection than last season.
It’s mighty exciting. The no.6 role for Liverpool should no longer be thought of as a destroyer, but more a controller. The idea will not be meaningless possession, but patient manoeuvring of spaces.
Last term, the whole team ran out of legs. They couldn’t keep fighting on all fronts in such a physically demanding set-up. Under Slot, hopefully Liverpool will be able to rest on the ball. Hopefully our injury situation will be far better and we’ll be able to fight harder at the end of the season.
The Mac-Zubi base might just be the centre of it all.
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