Liverpool have fortified their starting XI with the signing of Alisson from Roma for £67m (€75m), which is a world-record fee for a goalkeeper.
The Brazil international undertook a medical and signed a six-year contract on Thursday to become the club’s fourth new face this summer after the additions of Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri.
His recruitment significantly upgrades the weakest department in the squad, an area that the Merseysiders had failed to enhance since the departure of Pepe Reina in 2013.
Alisson has long been Liverpool’s solution to that, with the club putting in the framework for a deal last year.
They had made checks on him during the winter window, which Roma rebuffed. In February, they informed the player’s representative Ze Maria Neis that the asking price – then £62m and rising – was too high.
However, the need to recruit a pedigreed keeper has only escalated since with Loris Karius making two awful errors in the Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, in which he suffered a concussion.
The German, one short of a half-century of games for the club, has struggled to shake off that display in Kiev during pre-season. He has been the target of ironic applause from his own supporters and ridicule from that of the opposition.
Simon Mignolet hasn’t convinced as Liverpool’s No. 1 either despite being afforded 202 appearances and Danny Ward, who is on the verge of joining Leicester City for £12m, was only handed three competitive run-outs.
Liverpool moved speedily to reach an agreement with Roma for Alisson, effectively ruling Chelsea out of the process as they navigate Real Madrid’s pursuit of Thibaut Courtois, in the process.
The Blues did not submit a formal proposal for the 25-year-old, who had informed them his preference was to join Liverpool.
😍👌https://t.co/gN0qvFl8QO pic.twitter.com/EkazE39We5
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 19, 2018
'He's one of the world's best' 👊
Jürgen Klopp simply could not pass up the chance to sign @Alissonbecker: https://t.co/gN0qvFl8QO pic.twitter.com/EEZv5MYTGT
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 19, 2018
“At one point in the last few weeks it came up, the opportunity to sign one of the world’s best goalkeepers – then it’s not a long thought, to be honest, it’s only that you need to have a little talk with the owners! They were quite excited, so we did it,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told the club’s website.
“I think it’s something we have to do. He has nothing to do with the price, we have nothing to do with the price, it’s the market, that’s how it is and we will not think a lot about it.
“It shows the value of goalkeepers, of course, in this moment. It will happen a lot in the next few weeks I guess and that’s it, so we are really happy to have him here now.
“His English is surprisingly good and he is a real personality. He has meanwhile a lot of experience in the last few years, in Europe and in Rome, he’s played there on an outstandingly high level and he did the same at the World Cup.
“It was for Brazil not too lucky, that’s how it is, but then he played a really good World Cup. So it’s just a good moment.”
