Liverpool are reportedly willing to sacrifice their Belgian keeper, Simone Mignolet for AS Roma’s Alisson. The Brazilian shot-stopper has established himself as the first choice keeper for the Italian outfit and has been impressive so far into the season.
Alisson arrived at the Serie A side in the summer of 2016 as a backup to Wojciech Szczęsny. But ever since the Polish international left for Juventus, Alisson has fought his way to the primary option in between the sticks. He has recorded 16 clean sheets in 40 appearances with the club so far and is definitely a perfect answer to Liverpool’s defensive troubles.
His efforts have seen Roma turn out to be heavy title contenders this season although they have fallen way behind Inter Milan and Juventus in the points table. Mignolet has been with the Reds for over 7 years now and has yet to deliver consistent bouts of shot stopping abilities. The bosses of Anfield caved and decided to bring in another keeper to replace him in the first team. They chose Loris Karius of Mainz, who has turned out to be an unwise investment.
Jurgen Klopp has rotated the duo for the past 2 seasons and has suffered quite a few blowbacks. Karius has been dropped behind the Belgian in recent times but even then Mignolet still fails to uphold the standards of goalkeeping for an elite title contending club. A lacklustre effort against a straight hit shot from Granit Xhaka might just have caused the side to lose 3 points against Arsenal in their Premier League fixture before Christmas.
Other than goalkeeping issues, Liverpool also suffers from incompetence around the defensive backline. Their troubles have seen the side lose crucial points in the league and drop down to the 4th spot, 18 points behind leaders, Manchester City.
Back at Dortmund, Klopp could rest easy with Matt Hummels, Christian Pulisic and Neven Subotic at the backline, all quality players adept in playing the German’s fast-paced game. The English Premier League is even more competitive and ruthless than the Bundesliga which in turn punishes teams with vulnerable defences.
However with the arrival of Virgil van Dijk on a record £75m transfer might finally start to answer the woes of Liverpool. With Alisson in between the sticks and Klopp’s first choice defenders returning to the lineup, the club can finally match strides with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester United.
