Liverpool offered SURPRISE 31-year-old midfielder after Martin Zubimendi snub

One of the more bizarre rumours of the transfer window has emerged this week as Liverpool have reportedly been offered the chance to sign former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti.

The Italian, who was once described as 'a phenomenon' by eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, is currently playing his football in Qatar after joining Al Arabi in 2023.

The 31-year-old was once considered one of the world's best midfielders during his time in Paris but is no longer at the peak of his powers.

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However, according to HITC's Graeme Bailey, Liverpool are among four Premier League clubs to have been offered the veteran before the end of the summer transfer window.

The others gifted the chance to sign Verratti are Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal, while several sides in Italy have been alerted to his availability.

How much the 55-cap international would set prospective suitors back is unclear but he joined Al Arabi for £38.7m. It's fair to say that no European club would be willing to pay anywhere near that sum for his services.

Regardless of his price tag, Liverpool will certainly not be pursuing Verratti despite the fact that they have missed out on their priority defensive midfield target Martin Zubimendi.

Liverpool are not a club likely to make panic buys in the market, especially under Michael Edwards' watch, and the idea of Verratti plying his trade for the Reds next season is pretty absurd.

Liverpool's defensive midfield woes

Despite the absurdity of links with Verratti, Liverpool still do have a problem when it comes to the No.6 position.

After failing to sign Zubimendi from Real Sociedad for £51m, it appears that the Reds aren't going to be signing another defensive midfielder in this summer's market.

While Liverpool do have Wataru Endo at their disposal, as well as youngsters like Stefan Bajcetic and Tyler Morton, Arne Slot's willingness to play the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai in defensive midfield during pre-season speaks volumes.

The Dutchman is clearly not sold on Endo being able to play within his system and needs a more technically gifted No.6 at the base of midfield.

Will Liverpool regret not signing a Zubimendi alternative this summer? Only time will tell.