Liverpool have come to an agreement with Roma over a £66.8M deal for the Brazilian Alisson Becker.
Should the 25-year-old agree personal terms with the club, he’ll become the most expensive goalkeeper in footballing history, smashing the record which previously stood at £34.7M - which Manchester City paid to bring in his countryman Ederson to the Premier League last summer.
Liverpool made an initial offer last term £53M, with significant add-ons included, which was rejected by the Serie A outfit.
The Merseyside club and sporting director Michael Edwards chose to raise the stakes and match the Roman valuation of the player as the spectre of interest of Chelsea loomed.
The London club look set to lose Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid on a cut-price deal and are likely to hold a keen interest in Alisson as a replacement, with some reports claiming that they, too, had a bid rejected for the players.
They look set to miss out, though, as the player enters contract negotiations with Liverpool.
Loris Karius, then, looks set to lose his position as Jurgen Klopp’s preferred goalkeeper after his horror show in the Champions League final in Madrid.
The German coach had publicly defended his error-strewn showing in Kiev and chalked it down to the concussion he had reportedly suffered after a coming together with Sergio Ramos.
A sketchy start to pre-season, during which he made one glaring mistake, might have been the final straw for Klopp.
He’ll now likely face a three-way go with Simon Mignolet and the incoming record-breaker Alisson.
