Liverpool Reportedly Make Alisson Approach

Loris Karius seems to be heating up. Not so much in the aesthetic sense — the chisel-jawed German has been a stunning specimen for a minute — but in his performances on the pitch. After posting an abysmal save percentage in the first 18 months of his Liverpool career — stopping roughly 50% of shots faced — the former Mainz stopper has began to find his feet in recent weeks.

Over the past four matches — since winning the starting spot over Simon Mignolet — the 24-year old has racked up three clean sheets, while saving 12 of the 14 shots coming his way in the process. That 86% save rate is entirely unlikely to be maintained over a long stretch of games — elite goalkeepers usually post numbers in the 70-75% range — but it is an encouraging development nonetheless.

Whether this turn of events is in fact down to Karius, a drop in the quality of shots conceded since the arrival of Virgil van Dijk, just blind luck, or something else entirely has yet to be decided, but it seems clear that it’s not enough for Jürgen Klopp and his transfer team to drop the idea of improving at the goalkeeper position.

So say Sky Sports, whose sources in Italy report that the Anfield outfit have approached Roma and their goalkeeper Alisson about a potential move to Merseyside in the summer. With Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain rumoured to be searching for a new number one, competition for the Brazilian international’s signature will be heating up, and the Reds are looking to steal a march on their continental rivals with an early bid, much like they did with RB Leipzig’s Naby Keïta last year.

It looks like that’s going to cost them, however, as the Giallorossi are supposedly seeking a fee in the region of €70m (£62m) for their 6’4” stopper. It is an absolutely eye-watering sum of money, and one that would nearly double the existing record fee for a goalkeeper, held by Manchester City’s Ederson. It may also be entirely worth it, if it turns out that Alisson is the sort of generational talent his former coach Roberto Negrisolo claims he is, and the Reds can lock down that generational talent for the next decade.

As it stands, the interest appears to be genuine, and Liverpool have proven willing to pay up to get their man. Now to see if Karius can change his manager’s mind.