Real Sociedad are doing everything they can to retain Liverpool target Martin Zubimendi
Less than three weeks are left for the summer transfer window to slam shut and Liverpool are still working on a deal to make Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi their first signing of the Arne Slot era.
The Merseyside club are heading into the new season as the only Premier League team not to have bolstered their squad in the transfer market. Martin Zubimendi has emerged as their top midfield target but he is believed to be ‘mulling over’ whether to leave boyhood club Real Sociedad, having first joined their academy at the age of 12.
Now, there appears to be a twist in the Zubimendi saga. According to a report from The Times, Real Sociedad have told the defensive midfielder that he must pay his own £51million buyout clause to join Liverpool this summer.
The Spain international has grown through the youth ranks at the Basque club. It was previously stated that if the 25-year-old asks to leave San Sebastian this summer, Sociedad will grant his wish. However, the latest update appears to be a tactic from the La Liga club to crank up the pressure on Zubimendi and potentially make a deal difficult for Liverpool to do.
Zubimendi made his first-team debut for Sociedad back in 2019 and has since gone on to rack up 188 appearances across all competitions, registering eight goals and seven assists. The Spaniard is under contract until 2027 (Transfermarkt) at San Sebastian, so Sociedad appears to be in no real rush to sell him.
Liverpool have been feeling optimistic about agreeing to personal terms with the defensive midfielder—an obstacle many suitors including Barcelona and Arsenal have failed to overcome with the player previously.
The Reds’ interest has seemingly left Zubimendi to contemplate his future at Sociedad, whose ploy to make one of their academy graduates pay his own release clause could put a spanner on the works of Liverpool to get the player.
The Basque club changing their tunes and now playing hardball with Zubimendi should frustrate Liverpool and their fans, who ought to worry about the club’s lack of signings with the new season on the horizon. It has now put pressure on Zubimendi—whether he decides to stay put at his boyhood club and sign a new contract offered by them or finally end his time at Anoeta and join Liverpool by paying his hefty £51million buyout clause all by himself.
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The ball now appears to be in the 25-year-old midfielder’s court. It is an increasingly tense situation, but one that we hope gets resolved as quickly as possible and enables our club to get the first summer signing on board.
