Liverpool Reserve Goalkeeper Wants to Win Starting Job

Simon Mignolet is again under fire, Loris Karius continues to look shaky as a shot stopper, and Danny Ward has little top flight experience. With the team continuing to struggle, Liverpool’s goalkeeping situation has been one of its biggest question marks, and any choice now Jürgen Klopp makes will be something of a gamble.

One option that not many are considering is U23 stopper Kamil Grabara, who has impressed coaches at Anfield this season with the reserve team. And while he might not be a name on the lips of fans, he wants to be, and the fact he’s trained with the first team in recent weeks could mean he ends up in the mix to start sooner or later.

“To be training at Melwood is a good sign,” Grabara told the Liverpool Echo following the U23 side’s victory over Manchester United this week. “It’s always nice. I am looking to play for the first team, but I know that’s currently far away. We’ll see what the future brings. It’s my job to help the boys. That’s what I am there for.”

Grabara, still just 18 years of age, represents Poland at the U21 level and has been a highly regarded prospect at Anfield ever since he arrived at the club in January of 2016 from Ruch Chorzow, with Liverpool paying a €300k training compensation fee to the Polish 1.Liga side to secure the young goalkeeper’s services.

So far this season, he has spent most of his time with Liverpool’s U23s in the Premier League 2, getting six of his 10 starts in that competition along with three starts for Steven Gerrard’s U21 UEFA Youth League side. Despite his young age, only one start this season has come with Gerrard’s U18 domestic youth team.

In total, he has recorded five clean sheets in his ten starts and let in just six goals, and while it might not be over the next few months where he gets his first team chance, the consensus amongst those who keep a close eye on Liverpool’s youngsters is that Grabara’s chance will come—if not this year, then soon.