When fit, Alisson Becker has been Liverpool’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper ever since joining from AS Roma in 2018, and that status is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
The 32-year-old has had more than his fair share of injury troubles, with a two-month absence during the autumn opening the door for Caoimhin Kelleher to step in and bolster his Premier League credentials.
The Irishman has been continually linked with a move away from Anfield due to his inability to displace the Reds’ number 1 when both are available, and the club have already covered themselves for that prospective exit by agreeing a deal to sign Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia.
The Georgian will come to Liverpool in the summer, with the rest of this season being spent at the Mestalla, and there could duly be some stern competition for the goalkeeping berth in Arne Slot’s starting XI.
According to TEAMtalk, the 2025 arrival is ‘well aware’ that he’ll have a tough job on his hands to dislodge Alisson, but he’s set to embrace that challenge. Meanwhile, the current first-choice stopper is ‘understood to be calm about Mamardashvili’s arrival, and in fact welcome it’.
Away from that duo, Kelleher is unsurprisingly attracting plenty of transfer interest, with Newcastle eyeing him up as a possible replacement for the injury-prone Nick Pope. That follows reports last week that Leeds are plotting an audacious swoop for the Republic of Ireland international.
It speaks volumes for the luxury of goalkeeping options at Liverpool that someone of Kelleher’s ability is deemed disposable, assuming a suitor can come in with an appropriate offer for the 26-year-old (i.e. a hell of a lot more than Nottingham Forest’s derisory £7m plus Matt Turner proposal four months ago).
Mamardashvili would have a hard act to follow as the Reds’ second-choice stopper, although his outstanding displays at Euro 2024 illustrate his capability of performing at an elite level, and he also has the experience of three years in LaLiga.
Given Alisson’s unenviable injury record, the 24-year-old has a good chance of racking up a decent amount of game-time at Anfield next season, even if he’s largely playing second fiddle to the Brazilian.
Slot will surely appreciate having such a high standard of competition for one starting place in his side, with two goalkeepers (maybe even three if Kelleher doesn’t leave) pushing each other hard to get into the team. It’s a selection dilemma which’ll be the envy of most managers in the Premier League next term.
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