Carragher urges Liverpool that midfield star they deemed ‘the one’ should be eyed amid desire for move

Jamie Carragher feels that Liverpool should once again go after Martin Zubimendi, who rejected the chance to join them in the summer, after they felt he was “the one”.

Zubimendi has had chances to join Premier League outfits more than once in recent years. He said no to Arsenal, before Liverpool came for him in the summer.

The Reds looked to be making tracks, before Zubimendi decided that he was better off staying with Real Sociedad, the team the 25-year-old has played for throughout his entire senior career.

But Liverpool legend Carragher feels they should be going back in given how perfect the club deemed Zubimendi to be for them.

“All the focus in the summer was on finding a deep No 6, with Real Sociedad’s Martín Zubimendi close to joining. Given the recruitment team decided he was the one, why not revisit that interest and see if he can be persuaded to change his mind about a move to England?” Carragher posed in the Telegraph.

He also feels a new defender who can cover two positions will help Liverpool’s quest for silverware.

“Liverpool also need another defender. I have been saying for a few years that the club needs a multi-purpose defender on the left – someone who can cover for Andrew Robertson or play centre-half without weakening the back line,” Carragher added.

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Zubimendi ready to leave

Carragher suggested Zubimendi could potentially be persuaded to head to Liverpool, and it seems that might be the case.

In September, it was reported the Spaniard had regrets on not making the move in the summer, and would be open to a move in future.

TEAMtalk, meanwhile, are aware that Liverpool are indeed planning to test the waters again.

As such, it seems the pundit may be onto something.

Liverpool round-up: Recent signing’s exit not happening

Recent reports suggested that Federico Chiesa, only signed by Liverpool in the summer, could be allowed to go back to Italy for the second-half of this season.

However, TEAMtalk can confirm he is not likely to be allowed to go, with the winger focussed on showing Arne Slot he can be the long-term replacement for potentially departing Mohamed Salah.

The exit chances of star man Trent Alexander-Arnold appear to be increasing. Real Madrid are said to believe they’ve made significant progress over the signing following positive talks with the right-back of late.

Meanwhile, Curtis Jones has suggested he is not going anywhere himself, admitting he has thought in the past he may have to depart Anfield, but that is no longer the case.

Zubimendi better than Endo

Zubimendi would contend with Endo and Ryan Gravenberch for a spot ahead of Liverpool’s defence.

The Sociedad man has better attacking output than Endo, and while some statistics in terms of distribution and defensive abilities are the same, he cuts out attacks more often than the current Liverpool midfielder.

How Endo and Zubimendi compared in league games last season