One Paris Saint-Germain player who could potentially be facing Liverpool on Wednesday night might well have been lining out for the Reds instead, had fate played out differently.
The first incoming signing to be completed by Richard Hughes as LFC sporting director was the deal for Giorgi Mamardashvili in August 2024, although the goalkeeper remained at Valencia for last season before moving to Merseyside in the summer.
The Georgian has made 14 appearances thus far for Liverpool, most of which came last autumn when deputising for the injured Alisson Becker, something he’s also set to do at the Parc des Princes tomorrow night.
As outlined by Paul Joyce for The Times, the Merseyside club spent £29.5m to sign Mamardashvili two summers ago as they sought a new backup option to their long-serving number 1.
Anfield chiefs had also explored possible moves for Diogo Costa and Lucas Chevalier – the latter of whom was playing for Lille at the time but joined PSG for €48m (£41.9m) last year – but ultimately felt that the Georgia international represented better value.
In addition, Mamardashvili’s stock was quite high off the back of some magnificent performances for his country on their major tournament debut at Euro 2024, when they reached the round of 16.
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Chevalier came up against Liverpool in last season’s Champions League when Lille were beaten 2-1 at Anfield, although he might have to be content with a place on the bench tomorrow night, having lost his starting berth at PSG to Matvey Safonov.
With both he and Mamardashvili in their first year at their respective clubs, it’s worth looking at their statistics from the campaign so far to explore who has been performing the better of the two.
The numbers are more favourable towards the Frenchman, but that isn’t to say that the Reds were completely wrong to opt for the Georgia goalkeeper instead, particularly when they signed him for less than what PSG spent on Chevalier.
Liverpool’s number 25 has tasted defeat much more often than victory in his time at Anfield thus far, but he’s also had some moments to savour for Arne Slot’s side, such as the stunning save he made from Matty Cash in our 2-0 win over Aston Villa in November.
Hopefully Mamardashvili will put in a starring performance in Paris on Wednesday night and further underline that LFC made the right decision to secure a move for him in 2024.
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