sort of update: Mo Chatra @MoChatra So I spoke last week with someone involved in Spanish football. He told me that though buyout clauses are part of all contracts in Spanish and Portuguese football (as it's part of employment law), in reality, buyout clauses are very rarely exercised. The reason for this is because Spain's tax authorities can treat any funds transferred by Liverpool to Zubi (even if for a few hours) as income, and this would then be liable to 47% tax charge- so £51.5m could increase to £75.7m. In reality, the buying and selling clubs agree on a payment of the transfer fee by instalments. The selling club, when the sale is made official, still often announce that the buyout clause has been activated. My interpretation of Paul's latest update is that Real and Liverpool have now reached agreement on the fee and it's structure- and if/when the transaction goes ahead, Real will say that Zubi triggered the clause (to save face with their fans). After the embarrassment of the Caicedo situation from a year ago, Liverpool wouldn't have briefed Paul, Ornstein, etc. about this story last week if the player is not fully committed to joining the Reds. This doesn't mean the deal is done, but it looks to me like the last few days were spent negotiating the fee (as some reports had suggested), and agreement has been reached. Now it's down to the PR spin to play out in the next few days.
Liverpool are considering a third offer from RB Salzburg for Bobby Clark, thought to be closer to the £10m asking price. [@_pauljoyce] I bet there will be both a buyback and sell-on clause added.
As I said upthread or in another thread, all transfers in the UK, no matter the level, have a sell on clause if the player is 28/9 or younger. It’s considered financial negligence not to anymore; all clubs expect it, though the size or percentage of the clause is usually a hard part of the negotiations.
Elsewhere, Fabio Carvalho is primed to join Brentford in a permanent switch and youngsters Bobby Clark and James McConnell could both depart. Ben Doak is another teenage starlet the Reds are reportedly open to offers for, with Leicester City and Southampton two of the teams interested in bringing in Doak but Celtic are also in the race too. Leeds United have joined the loan race to try and sign Liverpool youngster Owen Beck ahead of the transfer deadline, with QPR and Celtic in the running as well. Arne Slot admits some of Liverpool's late returnees to training are not ready to start the Premier League campaign.
this makes things clearer ... not .... According to Merseyside sources, Martin Zubimendi has been told to pay his €60 million release clause himself in order to leave Real Sociedad for Liverpool. Liverpool’s pursuit of Zubimendi should find a resolution this week, with all parties pushing the player to decide on his future as soon as possible. It is clear that Sociedad are eager for their midfielder – who as of Monday was still training with Imanol Alguacil’s first team – to remain in San Sebastian for another campaign. But with Liverpool making him their priority target this summer, the 25-year-old is faced with a tough decision over leaving his boyhood club. The issue is not financial, according to widespread reports, more so Zubimendi taking his time to decide if it is the right move for him. However, the Times‘ Paul Joyce is among those to now report that Sociedad appear to be digging their heels in as they insist, if he does want to leave, that the player triggers his buyout clause himself at LaLiga’s Madrid offices. Buyout clause – NOT a release clause “The tactic has only served to increase the pressure on Zubimendi,” Joyce writes. “Sociedad are now playing hardball with the Spain midfielder, who may have otherwise begun contemplating negotiating with Liverpool.” Still erroneously described as a “release clause” in Joyce’s report and across the wider press in England, Zubimendi’s contract instead includes a buyout clause. That is commonplace in Spain and, unlike a release clause which can be activated by a buying club, requires the player in question to deposit the money in order to activate a transfer. In other words, a player must buy out his contract for a predetermined fee – in Zubimendi’s case, €60 million (£51.3m) – to ensure his release to the buying club. Of course, one wrinkle not mentioned in Joyce’s report is that Liverpool would still be paying that fee, only it would be done so via the midfielder, not between themselves and Sociedad. It has been claimed that money paid to Zubimendi would be treated by Spanish authorities as income, therefore increasing the fee to £75.7 million. However, that is no longer the case – but either way, this latest update has been speculated to be a simple PR exercise from Sociedad. Unless no lessons were learned with the reporting around last summer’s pursuit of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, Liverpool would have already gained the assurances they need regarding a transfer. It is suggested that Sociedad may be “playing hardball” in public to save face among supporters as they lose a popular core of their squad this summer.
Carvalho to Brentford - officially announced. The deal being worth 27.5m is pretty solid for us even with the sell-on fee Fulham is getting. I believe we are going to make 15m+ on the deal.
No Zubimendi from reports - he's too chicken to leave. Martin Zubimendi has rejected the opportunity to join Liverpool. He informed Richard Hughes of his intention to stay with Real Sociedad this evening. pic.twitter.com/W0uqGd6HzP— David Lynch (@davidlynchlfc) August 12, 2024 Martin Zubimendi has rejected the opportunity to join Liverpool. He informed Richard Hughes of his intention to stay with Real Sociedad this evening.
There is someone at Stuttgart that profiles the same - whether we go for him or not is a different question. Gravenberch seems comfortable as a 6 (quite comfortable) - maybe we go with a combo of Grav, Endo, and Baj for the first half of the season and reassess in the winter break?
He has negotiated a better deal at Sociedad. It’s a lot less than what Liverpool were offering. (Romano).
The reports say that we will not pursue an alternative number 6 this summer. If that’s true it would be two summers in a row that we have identified a #6 as a priority, made a huge push to get one, and ended up without one.
And on top of that Trent, Virgil, and Mo are entering the final years of their contract. Any progress on their extensions?
Can't afford to let Trent walk for nothing as we've done with some in the past. However if we're not showing ambition and strengthening then he may just do that. This is what ...the third year of trying and so far failing to bring in a 6.