There are those that feel Aurélien Tchouaméni cost Liverpool a place in the Champions League this season. Or, at the very least, the club’s fixation on the French midfielder led to the failure to qualify.
Back in the summer of 2022, the Liverpool transfer policy in midfield effectively boiled down to Tchouaméni or nothing. The Monaco man picked Real Madrid, and Jürgen Klopp duly ploughed ahead with his existing set, only for the club to get spooked into a deadline day loan for Arthur Melo.
The less said about that move, the better. But while Arthur will go down in Liverpool infamy, it was the existing midfielders who were the most disappointing, as it quickly became abundantly clear that they could no longer execute Klopp’s gameplan.
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Poster boy for the demise was surely Fabinho. In the conversation as one of the best in the world in his position until a matter of months before 2022/23 got underway, he looked miles off the pace as the embarrassing results just kept on coming for Liverpool.
There were undoubtedly problems in front of him too, and Klopp engineered a major upswing by getting the energy of Trent Alexander-Arnold into central areas to better protect Fabinho. But it was hard to shake the feeling that Tchouaméni — or at the very least a Plan B — would have solved a lot of the issues.
In hindsight, it was negligent of the club to put all its eggs in the Tchouaméni basket. This summer showed signs of lessons being learned, with Liverpool quickly moving on from the likes of Mason Mount to complete a highly effective midfield rebuild.
That being said, there still hasn’t really been anyone signed for the Tchouaméni role. Klopp brought in Wataru Endō, but early indications are that he will not be a regular starter, with Alexis Mac Allister currently being used at the base of the midfield.
There’s good reason to believe that the Mac Allister experiment will be here to stay. But it’s also plausible that Klopp will ultimately dip into the market to finally get his specialist.
Tchouaméni himself continued to appear on the transfer radar over the summer, after a debut campaign at Real Madrid where he was not always first choice. He has settled into an established starting role this season — although interestingly, that has not stopped Calciomercato from claiming that Arsenal now wants to bring him to the Premier League.
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![Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.](https://i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk/incoming/article28219150.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/0_GettyImages-1748470251.jpg)
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Curiously, however, Tchouaméni is to Arsenal what Arthur was to Liverpool: a Plan B. A rather more well-thought-out one, admittedly, but the report claims that Mikel Arteta will only try and do a deal with Real Madrid if he cannot land Martín Zubimendi.
Less of a household name to a worldwide audience, Zubimendi has nonetheless been one of the understated stars of La Liga in recent seasons. Strongly coveted by Xavi as an eventual heir to Sergio Busquets, the 24-year-old has so far shown a fierce loyalty to Real Sociedad, but interest from major suitors is unlikely to go away.
If Liverpool is still looking for a specialist defensive midfielder, it should take the hint from Arsenal, and pursue Zubimendi rather than chasing a long-shot move for Tchouaméni. If Klopp can be the one to lure him out of the Basque club, he will be getting an elite operator.
According to FBref, Fabinho is among the top 10 most similar players to Zubimendi over the past year. Interestingly, one-time Manchester City midfielder Fernando is also on that list. Both of those comparisons point to a player who is under no allusions about his primary responsibility: he is a defensive presence through and through, one who allows those further forward to shine.
Xavi is better-placed than most to know a good Busquets heir when he sees one. Meanwhile, as a Basque native, Arteta has no doubt been following Zubimendi closely — and seemingly likes him enough to make him the Arsenal priority ahead of Tchouaméni.
With these glowing recommendations in mind, Klopp should put the Tchouaméni idea to bed once and for all, and go for Zubimendi. It may be that his ‘Liverpool 2.0’ vision does not include a Fabinho figure any more — but if it does, Arsenal’s ‘Plan A’ is the place to look.