Former Liverpool recruitment chief Ian Graham has claimed that the Reds initially wanted to sign Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak ahead of Alisson. The Brazilian star’s ball-playing ability prompted the Reds to bring him in from AS Roma.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Graham stated that Liverpool had two options to fill the goalkeeper spot – Alisson and Oblak. He claimed that the two were among the best five in the world and they rated the Atletico Madrid star higher.
However, they opted to sign the Brazilian star as they wanted to bring in a goalkeeper who was good with the ball at his feet too. He said (via TBR Football):
Alisson has played 295 matches for Liverpool, keeping 127 clean sheets and even scoring once.
Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson has predicted that Alisson will be leaving Anfield this summer. He believes that the signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili last summer was in anticipation of the exit and told Paddy Power (via Metro):
Alisson reportedly has interest from Saudi Arabia and the Brazilian had an offer to leave last summer. He still has over two years left on his contract with Liverpool.
Sripad has been a Chelsea fan through and through since the age of 9 and can watch their 2012 Champions League triumph on repeat. The undisputed ‘GOAT’ according to him is Lionel Messi and his favorite managers are Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. Apart from popular European leagues, he also likes to follow other leagues like the MLS, Saudi Pro League, Eredivisie, and Liga MX.
Sripad believes in only using the right sources for his articles, and is an expert in understanding how to get the right quotes for each news to provide proper background information. His exploits have led him to become a popular figure in European Football and interviewing Premier League legends such as Alan Shearer, Shay Given, Paul Dickov, and John Barnes. His articles have been much revered amongst the football fraternity and have been shared by the likes of John Terry, Gary Lineker, and Declan Rice.
If given a chance to change a football rule, Sripad wants VAR to be fully automated and offside rules to be less stringent. When not working, he likes to watch past Formula 1 races and play FIFA.
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