Liverpool's pursuit of Martin Zubimendi has ended after the midfielder elected to stay loyal to Real Sociedad. The Anfield side had its sights set on making Zubimendi the inaugural signing under Arne Slot , but the Spanish outfit pulled out all the stops with a persuasive campaign to retain him.
The 25-year-old has decided to stick with the club that's been his home since he was 12 and Sociedad, who have already seen Robin Le Normand depart for Atletico Madrid and are bracing for Mikel Merino's potential move to Arsenal , were adamant about holding onto Zubimendi.
And the midfielder himself has a history of loyalty, having previously declined offers from Arsenal and Bayern Munich , favoring his current set-up at Sociedad. "They are just rumors, I am happy at Real Sociedad, it is like my home," Zubimendi expressed to the Spanish outlet MARCA in April.
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"I cannot say that I will play my entire career at Real Sociedad, perhaps the club does not want me to continue in the future. And I am not worried about those rumors. Our goal is to qualify for Europe next season. It would be the first time in the history of Real Sociedad that we have achieved this for five consecutive seasons. It would be great for us."
With this commitment in mind, Sociedad is preparing to present Zubimendi with a new contract offer. On the flip side, Liverpool must now redirect its focus to alternative midfield options. Despite being the only Premier League team yet to announce any summer signings, Slot doesn't seem fazed by the situation.
The manager reflected on the strength of his squad, noting over the weekend: "I think as a club like we are, we are always looking if we can strengthen the squad. But it's not so easy to strengthen the squad if you see both (friendlies).
"I've said many times before that I've inherited a really strong team. If we can and if we think it's possible, we will strengthen the squad. But only if we think we can and if it's possible. [It's] not only an important week, an important year to come. We have to improve day by day."
He also commented on the team's performance and room for improvement: "I think we saw today in both games a lot of good things but I can make a big list also of things we have to improve, which is completely normal. Some of them with the certain new ideas we have, have only been [working] with this for a week."
Acknowledging the adaptation process, he continued: "They have to adjust to that, they have to adjust to each other maybe with these some new ideas. So it's normal that we are far from perfect, but even being far from perfect we can score four, so that's a good start."
Liverpool.com says: Zubimendi would have been a great signing for the Reds and you have to wonder if he might look back in a few years and wonder what might have been. The 25-year-old could have stayed at Liverpool for a few years, won a few trophies, and then gone back to his boyhood side. His decision has been made now but you suspect he might ultimately regret it.
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