Fail! Reds Try To Sign Otamendi! ... Wait, Zubimendi!

“Sign me!”

[Ornstein] “🚨 Liverpool exploring deal to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. Not easy as €60m release clause needs to be paid in full if lower fee can't be agreed. #LFC would also need to convince 25yo, which other clubs haven’t managed to date.”

Stupid FSG try to sign Nicolás Otamendi, the useless money-stealing Yanks

So there you have it.

For Liverpool right now, £51m in cash feels easy; a bargain. You could pay £80m in instalments for an equivalent player. Maybe more. A year ago, it would have been £111m.

Convincing the player may be harder, but I don’t think things get this far without the player being onboard via backchannels (and natural backchannels exist between the player and Richard Hughes).

Most deals start with the player being contacted; albeit that was mishandled with Moises Caicedo last summer, by different people at Liverpool, unless he was leading the club on. By contrast, £51m upfront seems a steal.

Why can Liverpool succeed with Zubimendi where others have failed?

Well, quite a few reasons.