It appeared as though Jurgen Klopp was ready to give Loris Karius another chance following his dismal performance for Liverpool in the Champions League final.Karius was handed a start in Liverpool’s opening pre-season friendly, a 7-0 victory over Chester.Yet footage of the German making a howler in the warm-up didn’t go down very well with the club’s supporters.Worse was to come. Against Tranmere just days later, Karius conceded after failing to hold onto a free-kick.It would appear to be the final straw for Liverpool, with the Reds closing in on a deal to sign Roma goalkeeper Alisson.Liverpool have agreed a £66 million deal with the Italian club, according to Paul Joyce of The Times, and the Reds have permission to speak to the Brazilian.The goalkeeper position has been an area of concern for Liverpool for many years now, but the arrival of Alisson will go a long way to rectifying the issue.
The GK situation in 2015
In the wake of the reports linking Alisson to Anfield, Liverpool supporters have been remembering what Brendan Rodgers said about the goalkeeper situation when he was in charge in 2015.
Per James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, Rodgers said in July 2015 that Adam Bogdan would push Simon Mignolet to be the club’s No.1 goalkeeper.
Wow. That was Liverpool’s predicament just three years ago.
Now, they are close to completing a world-record fee for one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.
Liverpool fans can now look back at those days and laugh - especially if Alisson comes in.
"We really started from the bottom didn’t we," Twitter user @Fionnbharr_C wrote.
It highlights the difference in ambition between Liverpool’s current manager and their previous one.
Since his arrival in October 2015, Klopp has sought to improve Liverpool’s squad at every opportunity.
This summer has been a successful one, with Naby Keita and Fabinho coming in and Xherdan Shaqiri adding some much-needed depth in attack.
Should they complete the Alisson transfer, then they will be in a fine permission to challenge for the Premier League title this season.
It’s an exciting time at Anfield right now.