‘We tried’: Liverpool attempted to sign £50k-a-week Arsenal player multiple times - coach
Liverpool have a brilliant roster of goalkeepers right now. Alisson Becker is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, Caoimhin Kelleher is an incredible number...
Liverpool have a brilliant roster of goalkeepers right now.
Alisson Becker is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, Caoimhin Kelleher is an incredible number two, while Giorgi Mamardashvili is a prospect for the future.
However, Liverpool haven’t always had it easy on the goalkeeping front.
Once upon a time, the Reds had Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius as their first-choice goalkeepers.
Speaking on the LFC Transfer Room Podcast, former Liverpool goalkeeper coach, John Achterberg,has been discussing Liverpool’s previous goalkeeping issues, and he’s revealed that the Reds actually looked to sign Neto on numerous occasions.
Liverpool tried to sign Neto
Achterberg stated that the £50k-a-week Arsenal loanee was a target Liverpool tried to sign on multiple occasions.
“I looked at everything every year when there were new goalies coming in the leagues. I’d try to find them, make lists on that and then if I found goalkeepers who played the way we wanted to play I’d come back to that. Neto was a goalkeeper we tried a few times to get as well, but that didn’t come off. He could play the way we wanted to play. When you’re at Liverpool there aren’t too many at the top level to find.”
“Look at Oblak in the past, he was linked numerous times, and then you look at him, he’s good on the line, he’s not very tall, he’s not comfortable with the ball at his feet, and he defends the goal more than he plays a high line, so I thought that wasn’t a good fit.”
Liverpool got it right eventually
Liverpool may have failed in their pursuit of Neto back in the day, but that may have been for the best.
Indeed, if Liverpool had signed Neto, the dominoes may not have fallen in a way that eventually allowed Alisson to join Liverpool.
Ultimately, regardless of what happened in the mid-2010s, Liverpool have ended up with an incredible stable of goalkeepers, and they’re set for the next 10 or so years with Alisson, Kelleher and Mamardashvili.
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