Who is Alisson? Roma No1, Liverpool transfer target and top contender for Ederson’s starting spot for Brazil
Jurgen Klopp set to splash around £40m for the Brazilian stopper, but is he better than Simon Mignolet or Loris Karius?
LIVERPOOL boss Jurgen Klopp is an excellent coach, undoubtedly one of the finest in Europe.
But as Reds fans would attest to, the German has his blind spots and no more so than when it comes to goalkeepers.
During his time at Anfield Klopp has never had a No1 stopper he can rely on week in, week out.
Simon Mignolet is wildly inconsistent and has lost his place in the starting XI on more than one occasion.
Loris Karius was signed in the summer of 2016 to replace the Belgian but was poor and quickly relegated to the bench.
This term Mignolet has been Klopp’s first choice – although the Liverpool boss has rotated – and again has made crucial mistakes in big matches.
So it is likely to come as a relief to Liverpool supporters that a new goalkeeper is top of their transfer wishlist.
The man reportedly in the frame is Roma goalkeeper Alisson Becker – predominantly known as just Alisson.
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He is the Serie A side’s No1 stopper and is also Brazil coach Tite’s first choice ahead of Manchester City star Ederson.
But who is Alisson? How much would he cost Liverpool? And is he really a better goalkeeper than Ederson?
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We asked our friends at to answers these questions.
Forgot about money, for a second, how much is an excellent goalkeeper really worth to a team?
Sir Alex Ferguson believed around 15 points and while that may be a little steep, the premise is certainly correct.
This season alone there have been several game-altering performances from goalkeepers – most notably David de Gea’s during Man United’s 3-1 win over Arsenal in December.
A world-class goalkeeper can turn defeats into draws and victories... a bad one can do the opposite.
Think back to Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at the end of 2017, had Mignolet not let Granit Xhaka’s powerful but straight shot go straight through him then perhaps the Reds would’ve come away victorious.
Given the fine margins in the race to seal a top-four place, two points being dropped can make a big difference.
Which is why Klopp is happy to spend £75m on Virgil van Dijk to improve his defence and potentially £40m plus to upgrade his goalkeeper.
That figure is what it is likely to take to prise Alisson away from Roma.
The Brazilian has been excellent this season for I Giallorossi and has kept clean sheets in half of the 24 games he’s played in all competitions.
What makes it more impressive is last season he was the club’s No2 behind Arsenal castoff Wojciech Szczesny.
Alisson didn’t play a single Serie A game and was restricted to duty in the Coppa Italia, Europa League and Champions League qualifiers, in which he kept just four clean sheets in 15 games.
But it was the 25-year-old’s first year in European football following a move from Internacional in his homeland.
So while Szczesny was playing well and deserved his starting berth in Serie A, Alisson was adapting to a new language, country and culture away from the weekly pressure of being first choice.
That has arguably benefitted him this season.
Szczesny returned to Arsenal in the summer and was subsequently sold on to Juventus, Alisson was challenged with stepping up and becoming Roma’s undisputed No1, something he’s achieved with aplomb.
Roma have conceded the fewest goals of any Serie A side this season with Alisson being beaten on just 12 occasions in 18 games.
He’s kept nine clean sheets, too, and while many would point at a good defence protecting their goalkeeper, Alisson has more than done his part.
He is averaging 3.83 saves per goal in Serie A this season, the second highest in the division behind Inter Milan’s Samir Handanovic and a figure far greater than Mignolet (1.82) or Karius (1) in the Premier League.
Alisson is also more adept than the Reds pair when it comes to collecting crosses into his penalty area, an ability which would be invaluable in the English top flight.
While Mignolet averages 2.21 catches per game and Karius 1.67, Roma’s stopper is gathering 2.61.
During the first half of the campaign Alisson’s confidence has grown on a weekly basis.
What would have been important, however, during his first year in European football was the faith Tite had in his ability.
Despite not playing regularly, he remained Brazil’s first-choice goalkeeper and has now racked up 20 caps for his country since making his debut in 2015.
And despite Ederson’s performances since moving to Manchester City in the summer, Alisson is ahead of him in the pecking order for the Selecao.
As things stand, he will keep goal for Brazil at the World Cup in Russia next summer, but is he really a better stopper? In truth there is little separating the pair this season.
Ederson (0.60) concedes fewer goals per game in league action than Alisson but makes fewer saves per goal (2.82).
The Manchester City man’s distribution is more accurate (87 percent to 85 percent) but then he plays shorter passes so that would be expected.
The major difference between the two is how they control their penalty area. Alisson tends to come out and collect which is why he averages 2.61 catches per game to Ederson’s 1.86.
Instead the former Benfica man prefers to punch balls clear which is reflected in the stats – 0.28 per 90 minutes for Alisson and 0.51 for Ederson.
If Alisson were to join Liverpool this month the fight for the No1 shirt for Brazil would become increasingly intriguing and too close to call.
But who would be Liverpool’s starting goalkeeper, well that would be a no contest.
Alisson is a better goalkeeper than Mignolet and Karius and for £40m – especially with the money Liverpool are expected to receive for Barcelona transfer target Coutinho – his signing would solve another problem for Klopp.