'This window': Journalist offers update on Liverpool and Martin Zubimendi as Arsenal close in on deal
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Halfway through the January transfer window and Liverpool are still yet to flinch.
The Reds had been expected to be quiet throughout the winter market, despite a couple of clear areas of the squad in need of being bolstered.
And with February coming into view, Liverpool do not appear to be pushing for any imminent signings.
Of course, that does not mean that work is not being done to future-proof the Liverpool squad. Legwork for what could be a busy summer is likely being done.
Supporters will hope that part of the preparation being done is to ready the team for a new holding midfielder.
And after news emerged on Tuesday that Arsenal are closing in on Martin Zubimendi, it has been revealed whether Liverpool will re-enter the race for their former top target.
Liverpool not pushing to sign Martin Zubimendi
It maybe should not have been a surprise to see that Zubimendi could be about to seal his Premier League move after all.
Earlier this month, Spanish journalist Guillem Balague claimed that Zubimendi is ready to leave Real Sociedad after turning down a move to Liverpool last summer.
Nevertheless, given how much they wanted to sign him in the summer, fans may have expected Liverpool to return for the Spaniard at the earliest opportunity.
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, though, the Reds have not been active in their attempts to sign Zubimendi this January.
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“Liverpool have not been an active suitor for Zubimendi this window despite almost agreeing a move last summer,” Jacobs wrote on X.
There’s still time for Liverpool to reignite their move for the 25-year-old, but it looks like the right time to draw a line under this one.
Who could Liverpool target instead?
It remains fairly clear that Arne Slot wants a different kind of profile in his Liverpool midfield than what he currently has.
Slot has hailed Wataru Endo recently and the Japanese deserves huge credit for turning things around at Anfield, but he is not a long-term answer.
As a result, Ryan Gravenberch is currently being run into the ground, with Slot unwilling to trust the likes of Tyler Morton and Harvey Elliott. So, Liverpool will need somebody. Exactly who, well that is the big question.
Signing Carlos Baleba would ease the blow of missing out on Zubimendi, but the Brighton man is likely to cost more than Liverpool are willing to pay.
Other targets will surely be assessed, but it’s now safe to say that Zubimendi is not one of them.
