Andoni Iraola was announced as the new Liverpool manager this week and the Spanish coach will have some immediate major calls to make in the transfer market.
The 43-year-old left Bournemouth at the end of the season after miraculously guiding the Cherries to a Europa League spot and finishing just three points behind Liverpool in sixth. The Reds’ miserable season saw Arne Slot pay the price with his job as a number of key players underperformed or were unavailable through injury and Liverpool failed to mount any credible defence of the Premier League title he won just 12 months ago.
One such problem Slot faced in the back half of the campaign was dealing with the absence of Liverpool’s veteran goalkeeper Alisson Becker, due to yet another hamstring injury for the Brazil ace, who has been a rock between the sticks for the Reds since he arrived in 2018, in a then world record £67m switch from Serie A side Roma.
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Georgian stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili deputised for the Brazilian but didn’t completely convince as he kept just three clean sheets in 20 games that Alisson missed throughout the course of the campaign, before getting injured himself, meaning third choice keeper Freddie Woodman had to be called upon.
Alisson could also bid farewell to the Reds this summer, with the 33-year-old heavily linked with a return to Italy at Juventus, as he enters the last 12 months of his Liverpool contract, meaning another world class talent could soon walk out the door like Mohamed Salah.
Speaking to Daily Star Sport, via prediction market experts at casino.org, former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Friedel said the club must keep hold of the Brazilian. Friedel, 55, said: “I just hope he [Alisson] stays. I don’t even think of him leaving, to be honest with you. I know he’s had some injury issues, but he’s been such a good goalkeeper.
“He’s been one of my favourite goalkeepers of all time. So I really hope he stays. If he doesn’t stay, where will he go? I just hope it’s not to another Premier League club.
“Other than that, I wish him happy travels and all the best in the rest of his career. But I wouldn’t want Liverpool to play against him in the Premier League.”
Friedel, who spent three years mainly as a reserve at Anfield from 1997 to 2000 before establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s top keepers with Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Tottenham, added he also has concerns about Mamardashvili’s ability to fill the gloves of the Brazilian, if he were to depart this summer.
“He [Mamardashvili] had a few games where he performed really well and looked solid but it’s a big ask. I would hesitate to say he could be the long-term number one right now. I do think he’s a good goalkeeper, and I think he has a career somewhere.
“I don’t think he should sit at Liverpool as a number two for his whole career, though. I mean look at [Caoimhin] Kelleher, he was too good to be the number two, and look at the season he’s had at Brentford. So, yeah, he’s probably not the long-term guy, but he’s a good backup goalkeeper.”
It’s reported that Alisson has reached an agreement in principle to sign a three-year contract with Juventus in a move that could cost in the region of £13million.
Alisson is currently with the Brazil squad preparing for their opening World Cup group match, which could impact any move this summer.
It remains to be seen whether Alisson will depart Anfield with the Reds reportedly keen for him to remain at the club for at least one more year, or whether Mamardashvili will be seen as the new No.1 in his absence.