Only a few weeks on from declaring that he would not be leaving Real Sociedad - extinguishing Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona's hopes of a big-money summer deal - Martin Zubimendi could end up donning a Premier League jersey after all.
Indeed, Liverpool - despite overhauling their midfield in the summer of 2023 - are said to be fighting tooth and nail to sign the Spain international, who seamlessly stepped in for Rodri during his nation's Euro 2024 final success over England.
Owing to a €60m (£51.4m) release clause in his Sociedad contract, Zubimendi's signing would not break the Anfield bank, and Arne Slot is said to be on the charm offensive as he tries to win the midfielder over with his Liverpool vision.
Zubimendi has been going about his Sociedad business as normal, playing in a friendly draw with Union Berlin on Friday amid claims that he is torn over a move to the Premier League, but there is apparently a consensus that he will end up on Merseyside between now and the end of the window.
Primarily a number six, the 25-year-old would be expected to link arms with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in the Liverpool engine room next term, while also competing with Wataru Endo for starts in the defensive midfield position.
Using data from FBRef for the 2023-24 domestic campaign, Sports Mole looks at how Zubimendi's numbers stack up against Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Endo.
PASSING
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A bit of housekeeping before we dive into the all-important statistics; all four midfielders in this comparison played in a similar number of league games in the 2023-24 season, with Mac Allister and Szoboszlai featuring in 33 each, Zubimendi 31 and Endo 29.
As the midfield tool that kept Liverpool ticking in Jurgen Klopp's final season, Mac Allister tops the pass completion charts with 1,704 in last season's Premier League, a significant amount more than Zubimendi, who sits second on that list with 1,321.
However, Japan international Endo is statistically the best passer out of the four with an 88% success rate overall, while Zubimendi was slightly lower at 85.7% and Szoboszlai even further back on 82.6%. In addition, Endo recorded a higher completion % of both short and long passes last season, although he did start fewer games in the Premier League.
Interestingly - or perhaps eerily - Zubimendi's short and medium pass numbers are exactly the same, 607 completed from 677 attempts for a success rate of 89.7%, and his progressive passing distance of 6269 yards was significantly more than Szoboszlai's 4929.
Zubimendi does fall into first place on one passing metric, though, as the Spaniard recorded the fewest amount of passes intercepted with just 13 last season, while 32 of Mac Allister's attempts to pick out a teammate were blocked by an opponent.
It comes as little surprise to learn that Zubimendi is down the bottom when it comes to key passes in 2023-24, though, creating just 16 chances for his teammates, on par with Endo. Meanwhile, Szoboszlai fashioned 56 opportunities and Mac Allister 47.
ATTACKING
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An area where Zubimendi should certainly not be judged for his contributions in a Liverpool shirt, the Spaniard had a direct hand in five goals in the 2023-24 La Liga campaign, four of his own and one assist.
The 25-year-old's quartet of strikes - none of which were penalties - is actually only one fewer than Mac Allister managed, while Szoboszlai notched just three efforts and Endo one in their debut Premier League campaigns.
Szoboszlai also recorded just one more assist than Zubimendi in league action last season, while Mac Allister set up his teammates five times and Endo - who is already being linked with an exit amid Liverpool's Zubimendi interest - failed to notch a single helper.
Even though Zubimendi only had 22 shots in the 2023-24 La Liga campaign, 11 of them found the target, giving the 25-year-old the best shots-on-target ratio out of the four with 50% - Endo is second with 30% and the often wayward Mac Allister recorded just 18.6%.
That statistic can partially be explained by Zubimendi pulling the trigger from much closer in; the Spaniard's average shooting distance last season was 14.8 yards, while the Liverpool trio all recorded a mean of at least 20.
While Zubimendi does not often take people on either, he often succeeds when doing so, dribbling past his opponent 12 times from 18 attempts last season and only being tackled on five occasions.
The Sociedad man was also dispossessed the fewest times (16) and mis-controlled the ball on the fewest number of occasions (26) out of the four, so it is no wonder that he was able to step into Rodri's shoes with such ease in the Euro 2024 final.
DEFENDING
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Throughout Klopp's final season in charge of Liverpool, Endo and Mac Allister would share the number six burden between them, although the former will be expected to play in a more advanced role permanently next term should Zubimendi fill the Fabinho void.
The Argentine ranks well above the other three lynchpins when it comes to tackles made (99) and won (55) in the 2023-24 campaign, while Zubimendi attempted to dispossess an opponent on 49 occasions and succeeded with 27 of them.
However, when it comes to specifically challenging dribblers, Zubimendi takes the gold medal with a success rate of 54.8% (23 won from 42 attempts), while Mac Allister achieved a respectable rate of 47.2%, although he attempted far more than the Spaniard with a staggering 125.
Zubimendi was adept at getting his body in the way too, blocking nine shots and making 37 interceptions last season, both of which are leading statistics in this four-player comparison. Fifty-four clearances is significantly more than Endo (31) Mac Allister (25) and Szoboszlai (16) too, although the 25-year-old would naturally have to spend more time in his own penalty area playing for Sociedad than Liverpool.
Despite not being the tallest midfield enforcer at 5ft 11 in, Zubimendi's aerial win rate of 61.1% is also the best out of the four. Szoboszlai is the only member of the quartet above six feet tall, but his success percentage of 37.5% puts him bottom of the headers list.
Interestingly, the Hungarian did recover more loose balls than Zubimendi last season with 171 compared to 169 for the Sociedad stalwart, which can also be attributed to Liverpool's high pressing in the final third.
MISCELLANEOUS
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When it comes to disciplinary matters, Zubimendi only picked up five yellow cards in the 2023-24 La Liga season and no reds, receiving his quintet of cautions across 31 gameweeks; he would have avoided a Premier League suspension as a result.
The man who Zubimendi is set to succeed - Endo - was the most brash last season with 10 Premier League yellows, while Mac Allister was booked seven times and sent off once, and Szoboszlai was only given a warning on one occasion.
Zubimendi also kept his fouls count relatively low with a total of 36 - Endo unfairly challenged an opponent 50 times and Mac Allister 53 - although he also won the fewest free kicks with 20; the diminutive Mac Allister tops that metric with 47 fouls drawn.
As the cornerstone of the Sociedad midfield, Zubimendi completed 27 of the 29 matches he started, being substituted on a paltry two occasions. Meanwhile, Klopp hooked Endo nine times, Szoboszlai 13 and Mac Allister 14 in last season's Premier League.
A distinct lack of errors aided Zubimendi's efforts to see out the full 90 last season, as he is the only member of the four who did not make a mistake leading to a shot in league action last year. Mac Allister and Szoboszlai made one such error each, while Endo was to blame on three occasions.
Ben Knapton
![Liverpool manager Arne Slot pictured in May 2024 [IMAGO]](https://sm.imgix.net/11/29/1x1.gif?w=1&h=1 "Liverpool manager Arne Slot pictured in May 2024 [IMAGO]")
