Martin Zubimendi asking price and why it's a genuine PROBLEM for Liverpool

Liverpool want to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad but the asking price is a problem. Here’s why.

Liverpool's midfield target is Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad. That was revealed on Wednesday after a tease from the Athletic on Tuesday that the Reds had settled on their man.

There was plenty of speculation about the name - even Aurelien Tchouameni trended on Twitter - but we finally got our answer. Now comes the difficult bit as Liverpool try to negotiate a price with Sociedad.

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La Real are in the driver's seat here, too. Zubimendi has a release clause and it will prove to be a problem in talks for the Reds. Sociedad will point to it at every turn and essentially insist that Liverpool pay it if they want to sign the player.

The reason this isn't simple is that a release clause must be paid in full. Clubs usually split payments over many years by paying in instalments and adding potential bonuses onto fees. Liverpool can't do that here.

Now, they could try to tempt Sociedad by offering a figure above the release clause or making an offer that would climb above the clause with bonuses down the line. That's entirely possible.

But it doesn't change the fact that Sociedad can simply demand the money upfront as it entirely benefits them to get it in a lump sum. On top of it all, there's further interest in Zubimendi from other clubs, making it all the more likely that the Spaniards feed off that competition to demand the release clause.

That would be difficult for Liverpool to afford - while they have cash, dropping £51m of it all in one go is a lot.

Liverpool want Martin Zubimendi

One way Liverpool can make this easier is by selling players and they do, fortunately, have a surplus of midfielders right now. Wataru Endo feels a little lost in the squad if the Reds do sign a new holding midfielder. It feels unlikely that Tyler Morton will get the opportunities he wants, too.

The pair of them could bring in a significant amount of money without hurting the squad. The Times claim that Liverpool are confident of securing £20m for Morton, while they rejected a £14m offer from Marseille for Endo last month.

Moving both players on - and maybe getting quite a bit of money up front - would certainly ease the pain of dropping £51m for Zubimendi. We do believe the Spaniard is worth that kind of money, so let's see if Liverpool agree.