According to reports from Italy, one Liverpool stalwart could be prepared to sacrifice Champions League football next season in order to secure a move away from Anfield.
There’s been increasingly abundant speculation over the future of Alisson Becker amid ongoing transfer links with Juventus, and Mark Brus reported for the Daily Briefing last week that the goalkeeper is ‘very tempted’ by the project in Turin.
The rumours aren’t been fuelled entirely by Italian media, either – Paul Joyce claimed in recent weeks that ‘there is renewed doubt’ as to how much longer the 33-year-old will remain with the Reds, having joined from Roma in 2018.
On Wednesday, Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Alisson ‘remains convinced of the Juventus project’ even in the likely event of them missing out on Champions League qualification, with his agent ‘ready to accelerate’ a move.
The Brazilian’s representatives have seemingly communicated to Bianconeri officials his ‘firm belief’ that he wants to join the Serie A club and is preparing to bid farewell at Anfield after Sunday’s match against Brentford.
It’s claimed that the ‘threat of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s growing role in the starting line-up’ has prompted the Reds’ number 1 to consider a return to Serie A, and he’s eager to ensure that any exit from Merseyside is on good terms.
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Whenever Alisson does move on from Liverpool, it’s only right that he’s granted a raucous send-off just like Mo Salah and Andy Robertson will get at Anfield on Sunday after their final match for the Reds.
The goalkeeper has been a transformative figure for the club over the past eight years, and it’d feel inappropriate for him to depart without fans having the chance to afford him a proper goodbye, which is why an exit this summer would seem premature.
Like Arne Slot’s side, Juventus go into the final game of their domestic season with the chance to qualify for the Champions League. Unlike LFC, though, they’re in a disadvantageous position and need favours from elsewhere, in addition to upholding their end of the bargain.
A draw at home to Brentford would seal the deal for us, whereas the Bianconeri must win away to local rivals Torino, better Como’s result at Cremonese and hope Roma fail to beat already-relegated Verona.
The persistence of the Alisson rumours (not just from Italy) would suggest that a summer exit from Liverpool is plausible, and FSG might take the pragmatic stance of accepting an offer for the injury-prone goalkeeper with one year remaining on his contract.
However, losing him, Salah and Robertson all in one go would drain the Reds’s squad of so much elite experience and create an even bigger leadership void within the dressing room. It doesn’t feel like the right time for our number 1 to move on just yet.
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