Liverpool identify 6ft 4ins goalkeeper to challenge Alisson for first-team place
Liverpool are interested in signing Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to provide competition for current No.1 Alisson for next season.
The Reds are 10th in the table - 12 points behind Newcastle in fourth with two games in hand after losing seven of their first 20 league fixtures. Jurgen Klopp's side have leaked 28 goals this term - the same amount as relegation candidates and local rivals Everton.
Verbruggen, 20, is 6ft 4ins and broke into Anderlecht's team at the start of 2023, going on to make the No.1 position his own. The Netherlands youth international has conceded just four goals from his last seven fixtures in Belgium - a run that includes four clean sheets.
According to The Sun, those impressive statistics have persuaded Klopp to take an interest in Verbruggen. Liverpool are concerned Alisson's current understudy Caoimhin Kelleher, 24, will leave Anfield in the summer to play regular first-team football.
Liverpool also have Adrian on their books, but the 36-year-old is out of contract in June and has often proved unreliable when called on. He was signed from West Ham in August 2019 as Alisson's understudy but has slipped behind Kelleher in the pecking order.
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It is believed Liverpool will wait to see whether Kelleher will leave Merseyside before making a move for Verbruggen. Yet the Reds are said to be concerned about waiting too long for the emerging talent, as other top clubs are likely to be interested in him.
Bart Verbruggen has impressed for Anderlecht this season (Getty Images)Do you think Liverpool need a new goalkeeper? Let us know in the comments below!
There's also a good chance Verbruggen's value will rise if he continues to perform in Belgium. According to Transfermarkt, the Dutch stopper is valued at £750,000 - but he still has two-and-a-half years left on his deal and Anderlecht will demand a decent fee.
Alisson is expected to be Liverpool's No.1 goalkeeper next season. The 30-year-old, who has won the Premier League title and Champions League since his big-money move from Roma in the summer of 2018, still has four-and-a-half years left on his contract.
Alisson signed a new long-term deal in August 2021 and should remain part of the furniture at Anfield for many years yet. But Klopp will not want the Brazil international to rest on his laurels and signing another impressive stopper will keep him on his toes.
Liverpool have picked up just one point from their last four league games and were hammered 3-0 by Wolves in their last outing. Alisson was furious with his team-mates after the latter game. "I don't know what we need to happen to us to wake up," he said.
"We come here, say we have to believe in ourselves but we don't act like that on the pitch or deserve that. Again, we have to put this behind us and take strength from ourselves and families to bounce back."
Alisson added: "I'm not saying I don't trust we can't bounce back. I'm just so disappointed about tonight's game. We have to keep working."
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