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In January, the consensus was that Liverpool would move for a new starting goalkeeper—if not that month, than in the summer—with Roma’s Alisson the name most often linked with an Anfield move. Since then, a lot has changed.
Loris Karius has stepped up his game when given the chance and any Alisson links have faded. Jan Oblak has signed a new deal with Atletico Madrid. And Gianluigi Buffon, briefly rumoured to be a potential backup signing, is off to PSG.
Which leaves just one last big-name goalkeeper rumour out there when it comes to the Reds, and that’s AC Milan’s 19-year-old—as of February—rising star Gianluigi Donnarumma, the consensus top teenage goalkeeper in Europe.
Corriere dello Sport believe Liverpool have a serious interest in him, though it isn’t clear if he’d arrive as the new starter or competition for Karius if he did end up making the switch from Serie A to the Premier League this summer.
They also believe Liverpool are planning a €40M bid, one they claim would not interest Milan—though Milan are willing to sell and, according to Corriere dello Sport, would do so for less than the €70M they supposedly value him at.
A compromise of €55M is said to be what it would take to get Donnarumma, and this isn’t the first time that number has been floated. However, there’s a chance if Liverpool really are planning a €40M offer they might get him for that.
That’s because when Donnarumma signed a new deal with Milan, there were rumours that his release clause—of around €70-80M—would be halved in any season where the club did not make it into the Champions League.
Milan finished sixth this season. They will not be in the Champions League. Which could mean Corriere dello Sport’s compromise talk is moot and if Liverpool are planning a €40M bid it would actually be to trigger his release clause.
Assuming, that is, Liverpool are actually trying to sign the player—something that seems at least as uncertain at the moment as whether or not Donnarumma has a release clause that halves if Milan aren’t in the Champions League.