What Xabi Alonso has said about Liverpool target Martin Zubimendi amid reports of £51m transfer

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool have finally dealt their cards in the transfer market as they look to press ahead with a move for Martin Zubimendi.

The Real Sociedad midfielder, who recently featured in the second half of the Euro 2024 final against England, is viewed by Arne Slot as the man who can solve Liverpool‘s number six woes.

According to The Times, Liverpool are looking to make the recently-crowned European champion their first signing of the Slot era but will have to clear some hurdles in the coming days to secure his signature. Zubinemdi has a £51m release clause which must be paid in full, while the Reds also face an uphill battle to convince the Spaniard to leave his boyhood club.

Liverpool have trodden down this path before when they signed a Spanish midfielder from his boyhood club in 2004.

Rafa Benitez snapped up a certain Xabi Alonso from Real Sociedad for £10.7m that summer and the elegant midfielder went on to become one of the best players in the world in his position, winning the UEFA Champions League during his first season at the club.

Alonso left Liverpool when Real Madrid came calling in 2009 but holds the club close to his heart. The former Liverpool midfielder has also crossed paths with Zubimendi when he worked as a manager for Real Sociedad B between 2019 and 2022.

Alonso was full of praise for Zubimendi, who he guided to his first-team debut in 2020.

Xabi Alonso believes Liverpool target Martin Zubimendi is cut from the same cloth as him

In an interview with The Guardian in 2022, Alonso said Zubimendi has the ‘mark of a Zubieta’, which is the name of the Real Sociedad academy he graduated from over 20 years ago.

He said: “Martín’s a player all coaches would want. He’s generous, he always thinks more about his teammates than himself. He has that ability to generate play, to make those around him better, always offering solutions; to improve the move.

“He understands what the next step is before the ball gets to him. He has the ability to organise the axis. I loved working with him.”

Zubimendi, for his part, was blown away by the fact that he had the opportunity to be coached by his idol, as he spoke about the short but fruitful time he spent with the Liverpool legend.

He said: “I wasn’t even with him a full season because of the pandemic but those were lovely months. It was when he came that I started playing more; with Xabi, I got a run of games. I could feel the affection he had for me, which maybe comes from having the same position. He made a point of trying to show me things, teaching me.”

What could Martin Zubimendi bring to Liverpool?

While Zubimendi’s Liverpool arrival is by no means a foregone conclusion, his potential move to Anfield is sure to generate a great deal of excitement at the club.

A report from The Athletic earlier this week stated that Slot wants a number six who can flourish in his possession-based brand of football, indicating that adding a technical player in this position was always a priority for the new manager.

Zubimendi is tailor-made for Slot’s system, with the midfielder set to be paired alongside another technically gifted footballer at the heart of the midfield in Alexis Mac Allister. Liverpool signed Wataru Endo last season after being frustrated in their efforts to sign Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, both of whom joined Chelsea.

However, if reports are to be believed, Endo could be offloaded by Liverpool after a solitary season at Anfield, having flattered to deceive under the new boss in pre-season.

Zubimendi could well ring up Alonso to ask for his opinion about a transfer to Anfield. If that were to be the case, Alonso would undoubtedly give a ringing endorsement of the club that made him a superstar on the grandest stage and urge his protege to tread the path he did in the early 2000s.

​