There’s no doubt that’s been an incredibly frustrating summer for Liverpool on the transfer front, aptly summarised by the Martin Zubimendi saga.
In Arne Slot’s first few weeks at the club it was understandable that business was slow – the Dutchman needed to assess his squad.
But after methodically sifting through his squad, it seems as if Zubimendi’s arrival was the clear conclusion.
However, Zubimendi rejected Liverpool, and it now seems unlikely that Slot’s side will sign a new six at all, making do with Wataru Endo and the likes of Ryan Gravenberch.
Liverpool are ready to bid elsewhere, but it seems as if there’s no other midfielder in Europe that’s firmly on their radar – a surprising statement in itself.
Slot will now have to be creative when competing with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, who boast Declan Rice and Rodri respectively.
That being said, when speaking on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast, Gary Neville admitted that the fall out from Liverpool’s failed pursuit of Zubimendi may also have some repercussions off of the pitch.
Gary Neville thinks Liverpool players will be unnerved by Martin Zubimendi failure
Neville explained that Liverpool’s failure to bring Zubimendi in won’t have helped the club’s dressing room at all ahead of the new season.
Some have suggested that we’re already seeing the effect of losing Jurgen Klopp – a manager with a pull that very few others enjoy.
And whilst Neville didn’t go that far, he did think that Liverpool’s senior players may be a little unnerved right now.
He shared: “It won’t have helped the changing room them losing out on that player. The older players will be thinking what’s going on here.
“It will unnerve you a little bit when you lose out on a player who you think are you going to get.”
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Of course, Liverpool are still likely to finalise one or two deals before the end of the month.
One Liverpool target is desperate to come to the Premier League, even if he won’t be able to solve the club’s number six conundrum.
A tricky few weeks for this new Liverpool hierarchy to navigate, it wouldn’t be a surprise if there were still one or two big twists.