Martin Zubimendi has emerged as Liverpool’s major switch goal, with the ever-reliable Paul Joyce reporting as we speak that the Reds are contemplating a swoop for the Actual Sociedad midfielder.
After all, as David Ornstein identified in The Athletic, Anfield chiefs nonetheless have to persuade the 25-year-old to relocate to Merseyside, along with paying his full launch clause of £51.7m if the LaLiga outfit are unwilling to barter a charge for lower than that quantity.
Nonetheless just a few hurdles to be cleared, then, however coming in direction of the tip of a switch window by which we’ve needed to be very affected person for concrete exercise, it’s troublesome to not get excited on the prospect of the Euro 2024 winner replicating the transfer {that a} sure Xabi Alonso made 20 years in the past.
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The query that many Liverpool followers could already be asking is how he sizes up compared to the defensive midfield choices in Arne Slot’s present squad. We’ve crunched the numbers from FBref to offer as insightful a solution as may be gleaned at this second in time.
For reference, we’ll be evaluating’s Zubimendi’s figures from the 2023/24 membership season with the Reds’ major quantity 6 in Wataru Endo, in addition to two others at LFC who’ve performed in that position in Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.
Tackling
Zubimendi gained 55.1% of tackles that he made for Actual Sociedad final season, which is just marginally eclipsed by Mac Allister (55.6%) and Endo (58.3%) and is considerably increased than Gravenberch (46.1%).
When it comes to dribblers tackled, the Spaniard’s success charge of 54.8% was notably increased than the Liverpool trio, with the Argentine coming closest to him with 47.2%.
Interceptions
General, Zubimendi’s tally of 37 interceptions was superior to every of Mac Allister (35), Endo (20) and Gravenberch (14). When damaged down into the quantity recorded per 90 minutes on the pitch, he nonetheless comes out on prime with 1.25, with the Reds trio averaging 1.21, 1.05 and 1.11 respectively.
Aerial duels
With 61.1%, Zubimendi had a considerably higher win charge for aerial challenges final season than Endo (53.4%), Mac Allister (52.5%) and Gravenberch (41.7%). Whereas at 1.81m tall he has a slender top benefit on the Japan and Argentina internationals, all three are notably shorter than the Dutchman at 1.9m.
Ball recoveries
General the Spaniard’s tally of 169 ball recoveries in 2023/24 was second solely to Mac Allister among the many gamers that we’re evaluating right here, though his per 90 common of 5.73 is lower than the Argentine (6.75) and the Dutchman (5.87).
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Dribbling
Up to now we’ve checked out Zubimendi’s statistics when it comes to his work off the ball, however what about when he’s in possession?
The figures present that he has a flair for beating opponents one-on-one, succeeding with 66.7% of his tried take-ons in 2023/24. Endo is the following finest at 62.5%, adopted by Mac Allister on 52.9% and Gravenberch on 47.1%.
Passing accuracy
The Actual Sociedad midfielder accomplished 85.7% of his passes final season, which maybe surprisingly for a Spain worldwide is inferior to Mac Allister (86.6%) and Endo (88%), although it nonetheless beats Gravenberch with 82.2%.
Nonetheless, after we have a look at lengthy passes made, the Spaniard’s 68.3% completion charge is crushed solely by the Japan captain’s 71.4%, which illustrates that the 25-year-old may enhance Liverpool’s means to pick a cross from distance from the center of the park.
READ MORE: (Video) Impeccable tackles, killer passes – What LFC can sit up for in the event that they signal Zubimendi
Aim and shot creation
That is one notable side the place Zubimendi has scope for enchancment compared to our present CDM choices.
In 2023/24 he averaged 1.87 shot-creating actions (SCA) and 0.14 goal-creating actions (GCA) per 90 minutes. His SCA determine was solely half that of each Mac Allister and Gravenberch (3.74 every) and in addition inferior to Endo’s 2.82.
When it comes to GCA per sport, the Spaniard ranked narrowly under the Japanese midfielder (0.16) and, unsurprisingly, properly behind the Argentine’s 0.42, with our quantity 10 usually taking part in a lot additional ahead so as to have the ability to make an impression within the last third.
Anticipated targets
Lastly, the fashionable age soccer boffin’s favorite metric. Zubimendi averaged 2.7 xG in LaLiga final time period, which lags behind the three.7 for Mac Allister within the Premier League however trumped the mixed xG output of Gravenberch (2.0) and Endo (0.5).
For non-penalty xG, all of the figures above are maintained aside from the Argentine, whose tally is then lowered to 2.9, nearly eclipsing the Spain midfielder.
Conclusion
When it comes to breaking apart the play, Zubimendi would seem like an improve on Endo, Mac Allister and Gravenberch, though that’s to be anticipated over the latter two, who aren’t specialist quantity 6s.
The Spaniard additionally excels when it comes to progressing the ball, even when there’s slight scope for enchancment with regards to passing accuracy.
His xG determine can be greater than respectable compared to the Liverpool trio, particularly for somebody who performs virtually solely as a defensive midfielder, whereas the Argentine tends to function increased up the pitch.
All in all, Zubimendi appears to have extra strings to his bow than Endo when it comes to the talent set required for the defensive midfield position at Anfield, though that’s to not denigrate the essential contribution of the 31-year-old in his first season for the Reds.
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