Jamie Carragher has criticised Liverpool after their proposed signing of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi fell through.
A deal had reportedly been agreed for the 25-year-old, who impressed in La Liga last season and for Spain at Euro 2024, but collapsed after Zubimendi was persuaded to stay at Real Sociedad.
And former Liverpool defender Carragher has admitted that the failed transfer is “not a great look” for the club.
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“I think it was going quite well until the news that we got in the last 24 hours that the signing the manager wanted, almost like his guy, [Martín] Zubimendi from Real Sociedad has fallen through,” Carragher said on Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet.
“Reading between the lines in terms of reading journalists reports this morning, who obviously get fed information by the club of course, that he had a buy-out clause for £51 million I think, and he said he would come. Liverpool then go to do the deal and I think the club put a lot of pressure on him to stay.
“It wasn’t just a buy-out clause where Liverpool go and pay it, I was reading about it, the player has to almost do it. It was a bit complicated, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded for Liverpool. But to be honest it’s not a great look for Liverpool. They’ve gone for this sitting midfield player, who is a different type of sitting midfield player to what Jurgen Klopp would have gone for - he went for Fabinho, this guy was obviously more of a footballer, technical player.
“But a lot has been made of Liverpool bringing the old regime back, in terms of getting deals done and transfers done – and it was always made out that we’re the best in the class, we’re the best in the business, and listen they did a great job. But to not get the first deal done for the new manager, the optics are not great, it doesn’t look good at all, and it’s a position Liverpool have been looking for, for probably three seasons. They tried to buy [Aurelien] Tchouameni who went to Real Madrid, they obviously lost [Moises] Caicedo, [Romeo] Lavia, and now they’ve lost this player.”
Liverpool have yet to make a signing this summer after Jurgen Klopp’s departure and the arrival of new manager Arne Slot. They kick off their Premier League campaign with a trip to newly-promoted Ipswich on Saturday.
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