There is a curious thing that I’ve noticed in the Liverpool fanbase recently, whereby some people think that transfers dragging on for some time are ’embarrassing’ for the Reds. The most recent example of it was when Liverpool made an attempt to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion, only for the player to turn us down in favour of Chelsea.
The longer it went without the defensive midfielder joining us, the more it was proclaimed to be ’embarrassing’ from supporters on social media. Obviously one of the biggest errors is listening to what people on social media have to say, but one of the voices saying it was that of Jamie Carragher.
He's going where they pay him bigger than anyone else. All parties involved in this saga for the past 24hrs have been have been embarrassing from the player,agents, Brighton,Chelsea & Liverpool. This was not about football for Moises Caicedo but about the money end off. pic.twitter.com/LQr6LOIBIi
— Andyk65 (@Ak65Andy) August 11, 2023
Now the Reds are facing similar accusations over the club’s attempts to bring Martin Zubimendi to Anfield, largely on account of the fact that there isn’t much concrete news for people to report. As a result, the silence gets filled with the best guesses of those who want to have something to say.
There is a suggestion from some that Liverpool should ‘walk away’ from any offer if something isn’t resolved in the next day or so. It is so bizarre to me that people think a player wanting to spend time to consider if it’s the right move for his career should be considered ’embarrassing’, especially when the negotiation was always likely to be hard.
Other Clubs Failed to Sign Him
The first thing that points towards this ‘saga’ being anything but embarrassing is that other clubs tried and failed to get him to leave Real Sociedad. It is rumoured that Arsenal and Manchester United both attempted to persuade the player to leave La Real in order to play in the Premier League, only for Zubimendi himself to turn them down.
Bayern Munich also made a move for the midfielder, but he chose to stay where he was on all three occasions. If there is a difficulty in signing a player, which there clearly has been in the case of Zubimendi, why would Liverpool attempting to sign him and struggling to convince him be ’embarrassing’?
@lfcorbit Liverpool’s new DM || #zubimendi #highlights #foryou #foryoupage #viral #liverpool #dm
It is reasonably clear that the player’s reluctance to leave the Basque club has nothing to do with the clubs that are trying to sign him. In the case of Liverpool, there is little doubt that the Reds were lead to believe that he was willing to make the move. His agent is the same as Xabi Alonso as well as that of Andoni Iraola.
Iraola, of course, was appointed as Bournemouth manager by Richard Hughes, so it isn’t exactly outrageous to suggest that the Liverpool Sporting Director has a good relationship with the agency and will no doubt have been given indications that the player would be happy to make the move if Liverpool made an offer for him.
Transfer are Complicated
I am forever astounded by the extent to which football supporters forget how complicated transfers are. In the case of Martin Zubimendi, he is was born in the Basque city of San Sebastián and joined Real Sociedad when he was 12-years-old.
The Reds are attempting to sign him from his boyhood club, so there is always going to be plenty for the player to have to think about before he pulls the trigger on a move. At the same time as the buying club wants the player, in this case Liverpool, the players themselves have to decide on if it’s the right move for them. The selling club can also try to make it as difficult as possible for them to leave if they want to.
It appears that that is exactly what La Real have decided to do with Zubimendi. The latest reports are that the club have said that the player has to go to La Lisa’s offices and pay his €60 million release clause himself, effectively cutting ties with his boyhood club and sending a message to the fans that he wanted to leave and the club were desperate to keep him.
The first time I watched Zubimendi was in the Euros final and I was impressed with him. I had no idea he was on our lists.
I want to know the final outcome of this saga before I comment but I would ask this : how would you take Madrid trying to sign Trent?
— HAPPY J053Y (@Joseyrapper) August 12, 2024
It feels more like it is a PR battle that is taking place right now more than a financial one, so I’m not entirely sure how that is something that Liverpool should be ’embarrassed’ about. Reds fans should know what it’s like to be desperate to keep hold of a player, as we did with Steven Gerrard back when Chelsea wanted to sign him.
