Confidence, hope and rejection - The story behind Liverpool’s failed move for Martin Zubimendi

Liverpool have failed in their attempts to convince Martin Zubimendi to leave Real Sociedad this summer, ending a pursuit which heavily intensified over the last week.

The Reds are set to head into the 2024/25 season as the only Premier League side yet to bring in a new player this window, though they had hoped Zubimendi was going to be the one to end that transfer drought.

Alas, Zubimendi has given his word to his hometown club and will stay in northern Spain and could now sign a new contract.

Here’s how Liverpool decided on a Zubimendi deal and the subsequent fallout of its collapse.

As reported by 90min last week, Liverpool have taken their time to assess their needs during the summer window - their top priority was to keep their core group together and allow new head coach Arne Slot to give his input on the squad.

With pre-season coming to a close, the club decided they needed another holding midfielder that was comfortable on the ball and could get about the pitch in syltistic contrast to Wataru Endo, with Zubimendi fitting their ideal mould. He was a player already familiar to the club, but Slot’s arrival and first few weeks crystalised their need to pursue him.

Liverpool were fully aware that Zubimendi had previously turned down other clubs in order to remain at Real Sociedad, notably rejecting an approach from Arsenal during the 2023/24 campaign. But the Reds believed he could have had a different heading fresh into a new season and this may have been the perfect time to move on.

There was also belief within Liverpool that Zubimendi’s €60m release clause represented decent value, though if a deal advanced they would have been reluctant to meet that figure up front and an alternative structure would have likely needed negotiating.

Real Sociedad initially feared Zubimendi’s head was turned, while Liverpool had received an indication he was keen on the move, so there was optimism on the Merseyside end of the deal that talks could have been smooth if approval was given by the 25-year-old.

The Spanish side made a late play to put pressure on Zubimendi and add further doubt in his mind, informing him he would need to buy himself out by paying the release clause in order to leave. This is a normal tactic and not one with overly-aggressive undertones, however.

Ultimately, that mattered little. Zubimendi is in love with everything about Real Sociedad and San Sebastian, communicating his desire to stay six days after Liverpool’s interest became public.

For a short period of time, Liverpool thought they had secured buy-in from Zubimendi and were hopeful he would give them the green light. But that optimism disappeared completely over the course of the week.

There's no guarantee Liverpool will move for another deep-lying midfielder before the end of the window - they'll be quite picky with their targets. The club believe they already have a huge cluster of midfield options even if Endo isn't seen as a solution right now.

Despite fan outrage and disappointment, Liverpool's priority has always been to see what Slot has at his disposal and go from there, and the head coach is content with this strategy. The club could even reassess the midfield situation later down the line in January or next summer.

Liverpool previously made an informal enquiry for Bruno Guimaraes during talks with Newcastle United over Anthony Gordon prior to June's PSR deadline, but there's no indication they'll rush into further discussions on that end or do another deal for the sake of it.

They could turn their attention to a goalkeeper, however, with Valencia's Giorgi Mamardashvili a target. Liverpool are also long-term planning for a defender and may also look at wingers following their Gordon pursuit - though they have not received any approach for Luis Diaz, despite reports from Spain suggesting he has reached an agreement with Manchester City.

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