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We’ve got news of a kick in the teeth for Liverpool — Martin Zubimendi’s sent them packing.
Plus: Kevin Durant’s PSG investment, and the Atalanta-Boston Celtics mash-up.
Zubimendi No-Go
(Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
What’s happened?
Bad news reached Liverpool last night. Martin Zubimendi is staying at Real Sociedad. Their top summer target has slipped through their fingers, resisting the pull of the Premier League.
He’d have been perfect for Liverpool, too — precisely the controlling presence their midfield was after.
The frustration at Anfield is that they thought Zubimendi was a very achievable signing. Recruitment staff there were under the impression the 25-year-old would be receptive to an offer. A £51.7m ($63.4m) release clause in his contract helped, even though the whole fee had to be paid upfront.
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A No 6 is Liverpool’s priority and Zubimendi was the one. He’d been so majestic in the second half of the Euro 2024 final — negating the impact of Spain losing Rodri to injury — that the summer was never going to pass without a big European club trying their luck.
Last week, Liverpool made their move. Today, they’re licking their wounds.
What does this mean for Liverpool?
If you’re getting a touch of deja vu, then no wonder. After the Moises Caicedo saga 12 months ago, this is the second summer running in which a big offer for a prime central midfielder has failed to pay off at Anfield.
We’ll see soon enough if Liverpool have contingencies up their sleeve or if Ryan Gravenberch will hold the fort at six. The indication from the club is that they might not go after anyone else, that Zubimendi was a specific target with specific traits as opposed to a name on a long list.
To date, Liverpool’s window has been a strange way of backing new head coach Arne Slot. The club are still to sign anybody. The season starts in four days. Making existing resources work will be a true test of Slot’s coaching expertise and, as it stands, it’s no small job.
DealSheet: Transfer Latest
(Getty Images; design by Eamonn Dalton)
Vini Jnr’s Saudi offer and Ramsdale’s future
These are always the most entertaining weeks of the transfer window; the juncture where clubs have to show their hands. Today’s DealSheet is stacked…
- The situation around Vinicius Junior intrigues me. He doesn’t sound at all minded to leave Real Madrid, but somebody in the Saudi Pro League is dead set on changing his mind. Let’s face it, it’s not as if money would be a problem.
- Ajax have failed with an initial loan bid for Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, but as the deadline draws closer, you can see some sort of compromise materialising.
- It won’t be Marseille for Eddie Nketiah (they didn’t take Arsenal up on a loan option), but Bournemouth have added him to their list of possibles after selling Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur.
- Newcastle United’s latest bid for Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi has hit £60m ($77m) all in. That can’t be far short of his value.
- Finally, it won’t happen here and now, but Manchester City’s interest in Real Madrid’s Rodrygo is something to keep an eye on longer term.
Italy’s Ted Lasso
(Nicolo Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The success of Stephen Pagliuca
Where would Chelsea be if, in 2022, the process of auctioning them had gone the way of somebody other than Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital? Had a different party won the bid — say, for instance, Stephen Pagliuca — would the good ship Chelsea be better at dodging icebergs?
I ask the question because Pagliuca’s other sporting investments are going swimmingly. The Boston Celtics, where the 69-year-old is co-owner, are NBA champions. Serie A club Atalanta — the subject of a majority takeover led by the U.S. investor two years ago, just before he went after Chelsea — won the Europa League in May. At face value, he’s got the measure of modern, progressive ownership.
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The Celtics are no strangers to the top of basketball’s podium. They’re the NBA’s most successful franchise — albeit less decorated since their 1960s heyday. But Atalanta’s European trophy was a monumental score (the second major trophy in their 116-year history) and James Horncastle’s interview with Pagliuca today goes a long way to explaining why they’ve come good.
The bottom line: Pagliuca is astute at backing the right horses. At Atalanta, he retained the club’s president, Antonio Percassi, after a long chat over Michelin-starred pasta. He also retained the coach, Gian Piero Gasperini — another white-haired spirit with his head screwed on. “We didn’t want to tweak things too much because, as they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Pagliuca said. “Just add to it.”
The reward was European glory in Dublin in May, where Atalanta achieved the feat of beating a virtually unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen side. The party went on all night, until everybody got back on a plane at 8am the next morning. “I felt like the Ted Lasso of Italy,” Pagliuca told James. “I thought I was part of a movie.”
Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola is in Boston to support the Celtics in the #NBAFinals
🎥 @ESPNFC pic.twitter.com/fdvKW2GINu
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 7, 2024
The Pep-Mazzulla crossover
Pagliuca’s involvement in two sports has led to crossovers between football and basketball. For example, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla — a 36-year-old the franchise took a punt on to great effect last year — has become close to Pep Guardiola.
The Manchester City manager attended game one of the NBA finals, kitted out in a Celtics hoodie (see above). He and Mazzulla swap tips on tactics and pressing. It’s funny how great sporting minds flock together, like the meeting of minds between Guardiola and chess genius Garry Kasparov many years ago.
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Players interact, too, like Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman and Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown. It’s a healthy partnership, in which Pagliuca is both light-touch and ambitious. Between competition prize money and investment, Atalanta pulled in £170m ($266m) last year. The redevelopment of their stadium is close to finishing. Pagliuca says they can now “focus on the football operation” — which sounds slightly ominous for Serie A.
On Wednesday, it’s a Super Cup appearance for Atalanta in Poland, the Europa League holders against Champions League winners Real Madrid. Atalanta have not grown to expect these occasions yet, but Pagliuca’s track record promises more of them.
Durant’s French Investment
(PSG)
More link-ups…
There’s a football-basketball crossover going down in Paris, too. NBA veteran Kevin Durant has bought into Paris Saint-Germain, becoming a minority shareholder. The negotiations must have killed time while he was winning gold at the Olympic Games.
PSG are worth just shy of £4bn ($5.12bn). Durant’s investment is said to be “single-digit millions”, so relatively speaking, it’s a tiny interest. But it also follows the growing trend of sportspeople and celebrities — many from the U.S. — picking up stakes in major football clubs.
I saw it last year at Leeds United, where Olympic giant Michael Phelps, golfer Jordan Spieth and others tabled minor investments. Promptly followed by Russell Crowe and Will Ferrell. It’s the new fashion accessory and the shopping aisles are heaving.
Premier League Evolution
Postecoglou: Plan A or the highway
The Premier League is almost back, so Mark Carey spent time looking at how the division and the teams in it might evolve this season. One conclusion I totally agree with: Ange Postecoglou won’t be bending.
In the mould of Marcelo Bielsa, Plan A is Postecoglou’s only plan — in spite of any criticism of it. Even so, redoubling his tactics will depend on Spurs addressing their habit of conceding possession so readily in dangerous positions (see above).
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Turning the ball over in their defensive third was a core weakness in Postecoglou’s first year. It cost them seven goals. And while sticking to the script is his prerogative, he can’t afford for that shortcoming to persist.
Liverpool in transition
Liverpool’s leap from Jurgen Klopp to Arne Slot will be something to follow. Under Klopp, they were massively transitional (see above) rather than possession-based — in the way Manchester United have been on Erik ten Hag’s watch.
The difference is Klopp’s style was intentional (as Slot’s will be, too). Ten Hag’s approach at Old Trafford constantly feels like a matter of necessityas opposed to his tactical preference. Any chance of a philosophical change this time?
Around The Athletic FC
👕 I defer to Nick Miller on fashion, always, but I don’t think I’m having Liverpool’s weird collar at the top of his list of Premier League kits. Something that sticks out from his piece: gambling advertising is everywhere.
🎾 Something I didn’t expect to read about: an ex-Premier League star joining the International Tennis Federation Masters Tour. New balls, please.
🏟 The second feature in the Lost Grounds series by Richard Sutcliffe is an insight into Brighton having to build from the soil up. Time was when they were homeless and on their knees.
(Top photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_
