EURO PAPER TALK: Liverpool could sign perfect Martin Zubimendi alternative and still get Anthony Gordon

Liverpool still needs a defensive midfielder after Martin Zubimendi opted to stay in Spain. There’s a way Richard Hughes can get a good alternative and still be able to get Anthony

Anthony Gordon of

You can only make a first impression once. Liverpool’s new sporting director isn’t currently making a very good one with many of the club’s supporters.

With the Reds yet to sign a player this summer, Richard Hughes isn’t endearing himself to the transfer-hungry hordes within the Liverpool fanbase. The Martin Zubimendi saga ended negatively and time is running out for the club to make a significant statement of intent in support of new head coach Arne Slot.

It is time for Hughes to get creative. The club prospered in the previous Michael Edwards era by prioritizing a very select group of transfer targets, sticking to its chosen path religiously. But that worked in part because Jürgen Klopp had already positively set the direction of travel for that version of the Reds. Slot looks capable of doing likewise, but if he ever needed a boost via recruitment, the time is now.

Signing Anthony Gordon would lift the supporters too, even if he is not a solution to the defensive midfield quandary. But how can Liverpool possibly secure a new number six while also getting the wide forward it clearly wants?

The key is to approach the issue with a problem solving mindset, and go from there. What are the Reds looking to do? Procure an upgrade on Wataru Endō. Data from FBRef suggests that Zubimendi was one of the 10 players with whom the Japanese international was most similar over the last year. With the Real Sociedad man off the table, Liverpool needs to look elsewhere.

Another name in the Endo-alike top 10 is Frenkie de Jong, and this is where things could get interesting. The Reds’ could leverage Barcelona’s reported interest in Luis Díaz to engineer a part exchange, perhaps pocketing De Jong and cash in a trade for the Colombian winger. The Athletic’s James Pearce may have posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “Liverpool have had no approaches for Luis Diaz from any club,” but that doesn’t mean Barca are not interested if there was to be a deal to be made.

With de Jong filling the hole at the base of the Reds’ midfield, Hughes could then go back in for Gordon. With the part-exchange funds from Barcelona, the Brentford fee for Fábio Carvalho and the sell-on funds earned from Dominic Solanke’s move to Tottenham, he would be able to push a little harder financially in order to secure the England international.

Is it unrealistic to expect this sequence of deals to fall into place so neatly? Almost certainly. Even so, it’s time for Hughes to make a super smart move, before his first impression of his debut transfer window torches his reputation.