Liverpool boss Arne Slot makes Martin Zubimendi admission after summer transfer saga came to nothing

Reports in Spain this week claimed that Zubimendi was having some regrets over turning Liverpool down, with the Spain international said to be hoping for a renewed approach from the Premier League side in January.

However, Slot poured cold water on the links and admitted that, while the club could benefit from bringing in good players to help with rotation, the form of Ryan Gravenberch gave him no regrets over Zubimendi.

Gravenberch has featured in every minute in the Premier League for Liverpool this season, with Slot fielding the 22-year-old in the defensive midfielder spot that Zubimendi was expected to play.

Zubimendi, meanwhile, has seen Real Sociedad struggle to build on their sixth-placed finish last season, with the Basque side sitting 16th in La Liga.

Slot said: "If I could have bought [Zubimendi] then maybe I could have rotated a bit more and [the media] would be a lot more happy about it!

"But there is no point talking about Zubimendi any more because he stayed with Real Sociedad and we've moved on and we are really happy with Ryan.

"But a club like ours should always try to bring in good players who can help the team to win because it is going to be a long season and therefore you need a lot of good players."

Although Liverpool pulled off an impressive win in Milan in the Champions League this week, Slot's side host Bournemouth on Saturday hoping to bounce back from their disappointing home defeat to Nottingham Forest in their last Premier League game.

The loss was Liverpool's first league goal conceded and points dropped under Slot, however the Reds still sit inside the top four at this early stage of the season.