Scouting Report: Martín Zubimendi, the Reds’ Next Xabi Alonso?

Written on 07/08/2024

Housekeeping alert!! Before I start the article, please note that this was written post the encouraging updates that Liverpool are confident of signing Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. The move can still go either way.

After a couple of pre-season games, it was clear that Arne Slot did not fancy Wataru Endo in the deeper-lying midfielder role. He tried Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai there before handing minutes to Trey Nyoni and Stefan Bajčetić. The latter two clearly cannot be trusted to play a major role in the upcoming season for differing reasons. Nyoni is only 17 and has a lot of growing up to do, while Bajčetić has just returned from a year out due to an injury related to his growth. 

While Alexis Mac Allister is an option for one of the spots in the double-pivot midfield (if that is indeed the shape Slot will start with), there is space for the upgrade of the other spot. For that reason, the pursuit of Zubimendi makes a lot of sense. The Spanish midfielder, who starred for his national team in the Euros final against England after replacing Rodri, was a Sociedad Academy product before playing for the first team there.

The 25-year-old made his senior debut in the 2018/19 season and has become a regular feature in the side since the 2020/21 campaign. He has made 188 appearances in all competitions for the club, predominantly either as a solo number six or in a double-pivot midfield.

With the hope that Liverpool will sign him, below we have a detailed scouting report of what the Reds can expect from him on the field.

Martin Zubimendi - Player Profile and Stats

The first thing to note about Zubimendi is that he is comfortable passing with either foot (although right is the favoured one). The Spaniard is secure on the ball without being too flashy or progressive (it was not his role to do that at Sociedad anyway). He is quick into tackles, reads the game well to make interceptions, is strong on ground duels and refreshingly very good aerially despite not being one of the tallest defensive midfielders in the continent.

There are a couple of dashboards covering passing, possession and basic defensive metrics to see where the 25-year-old is at when his numbers are compared to midfielders of the top-5 leagues in Europe for a certain age bracket.

Note - Used the minimum 40 pass attempts per 90 filter to make sure the midfielders with enough ball possession are included in the dashboards for a better understanding of the analysis.

As mentioned above, Zubimendi boasts great numbers for a player who is happy to keep things ticking for the team without being a deep-lying chance-creator or ball progressor. In a predominant 4-2-3-1 system at Sociedad playing alongside Mikel Merino, the 25-year-old’s job was to hold his position, be accurate with the passing and cover the ground needed to stop opposition counter-attacks.