Liverpool have a problem in goal.
The Reds do, of course, have Alisson, perhaps the best goalkeeper in world football when he is at his best.
They paid £67m to snaffle him away from Roma and, last season, he played a key role in the club’s title triumph.
Across his 29 league games, he kept 15 clean sheets, conceding just 23 times. That’s a truly excellent record.
However, the back-up is Adrian, the former West Ham United goalkeeper, and to say he is error-prone would be a kindness.
The Spaniard was roundly terrible against Atletico Madrid in last season’s Champions League, while he also made a couple of errors at the weekend as he shipped seven goals against Aston Villa in perhaps the most remarkable game in Premier League history.
Alisson, at the moment, is injured, and could miss as many as six weeks – or six games in all competitions.
They have allowed Loris Karius to move on loan – perhaps rightly given his history – while the only other option is Caoimhin Kelleher, but he is just 22 and has next to no senior experience.
And that means that their options are rather limited, with a suggestion now made that a player from the EFL could be drafted in to help bolster their options; the domestic transfer window is still open, meaning Premier League clubs can buy players from the lower-leagues.
And Paul Robinson, the former England goalkeeper, believes that Stoke City’s Jack Butland would be a fine acquisition.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “If Alisson is going to be out for that length of time Liverpool are going to have to look at it.
“While the domestic window is still open we may see Liverpool do some business. There is a lot of good goalkeepers that are not playing football right now.
“I can see Liverpool signing the likes of Jack Butland on a short-term deal. They need somebody like that. A player that has the experience of handling big games. Somebody of that ilk.”
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
This isn’t the worst shout.
Butland has been at Stoke for what feels like an eternity and he has also won nine caps for England.
This season, he has not started a Championship game yet, but he has 168 Stoke appearances under his belt and could be snaffled up for a relatively low price.
His contract expires at the end of the season and he is valued at £5.8m by Transfermarkt, and he is still just 27.
He can still be an asset to a Premier League club and one has to assume that he could be a better option than Adrian, while he is also a homegrown player.
That’s two bonuses for the price of one.