New-look Liverpool midfield pairing planned as Slot ‘pushes’ to sign 48-cap star to partner Zubimendi

Liverpool will step up their pursuit of Martin Zubimendi this week amid a growing belief they can strike a deal – and Arne Slot has reportedly set his sights on another international star to play alongside him in a new-look Reds midfield with a double deal set to also see one of Jurgen Klopp’s final signings depart.

The Merseysiders are in very good shape as they head into their Premier League opener against Ipswich on Saturday, having beaten Sevilla 4-1 in their latest pre-season friendly. And having also defeated Arsenal, Manchester United and Real Betis this summer, there is optimism that new boss Slot can made an instant impact at Liverpool when the real business starts.

Slot stepped into the very sizeable shoes left behind by Jurgen Klopp over the summer and the Dutchman has already stated that his work with his players was always going to begin on the training ground. And despite limited time with some of his more senior stars, Liverpool have a clear plan and style of play under their new manager.

Adding to their squad, however, has not been quite so easy. With just two and a half weeks left until the window closes, the Reds are yet to add to their playing pool, while seeing the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip and Adrian all depart Merseyside.

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However, Slot knows exactly the positions he needs to bolster in and while TEAMtalk understands that a new central defender is seen as desirable, the impact made by Jarell Quansah on the new boss over the pre-season has lessened that need.

As a result, it is a ball-playing defensive midfielder that has become priority number one for Slot and co and their pursuit of Real Sociedad star Zubimendi has been well documented in recent weeks.

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The capture of the Spain star, though, will not come cheap.

The 25-year-old has a sizeable €60m (£51.3m) exit clause in his deal and Real Sociedad are adamant it will take every penny of that to convince them to sell one of their prized assets. Furthermore, TEAMtalk also understands that the price needed to lure Zubimendi away will need to be paid in full and up front if they are to get a deal over the line.

That has proved too steep for fellow admirers Arsenal, who are instead chasing his teammate, Mikel Merino.

However, it seems Slot is now convinced by Zubimendi’s qualities and it was revealed last week that the Reds have made clear their intentions to Sociedad to match his release fee and trigger transfer talks with the player.

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Whether they can persuade Zubimendi to wave farewell to his hometown club still remains open to some debate, though optimism is growing on Merseyside that Slot and sporting director, Richard Hughes, can sell the Liverpool project to the player when granted the green light to make an approach.

Indeed, the latest reports in Spain appear to back that up with Zubimendi increasingly tempted by the project on offer at Anfield and with the Reds growing optimisitic that a deal for the player can be tied up this week.

Slot wants France star to play alongside Zubimendi at Liverpool

Incredibly, Zubimendi might not be the only midfielder arriving at Anfield this week with Slot also seemingly keen on Adrien Rabiot and with Hughes also expected to make an approach to lure the free agent to Merseyside this week.

The France star – capped 48 times by his country – remains without a club having left Juventus at the end of his deal this summer with talks over landing him with a new club yet to bear fruit for his mother and agent, Veronique.

But now the Daily Mirror claims the Reds are ready to make their approach for the player in the coming days with Slot convinced his experience and know-how can add a crucial dynamic to their engine room and give Slot a big chance to change up his midfield system.

And in order to get the best out of his more forward-thinking players, it’s believed Slot now sees a central midfield axis of Zubimendi and Rabiot as key for not just providing their defence with more protection, but also in allowing the likes of Mo Salah, Luis Diaz – explosive in Sunday’s clash against Sevilla – and Darwin Nunez licence to do what they do best.

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As a result, talks over a prospective free-transfer move to Anfield are expected to commence this week – and the potential signing could spell bad news for one of Klopp’s last-ever signings on Merseyside.

And should Rabiot sign, it’s claimed Slot will allow Wataru Endo to depart this summer with the player already the subject of a failed offer from Marseille.

The Ligue 1 side saw a £12m offer for the Japan star rejected earlier this summer, with Slot feeling the timing was not right to accept his sale.

But a double capture of Zubimendi and Rabiot could be exactly the spur Liverpool need to cash in on the 31-year-old and amid a belief that OM are now preparing a fresh offer for his services.