‘Once I succeed…’ – Liverpool loanee is openly backing himself to replace Anfield legend | OneFootball

One player who’s currently out on loan from Liverpool has openly stated his ambition to become a fixed first-team starter at Anfield in future years and win major silverware with the Reds.

Vitezslav Jaros is spending the season at Ajax, his fifth different loan spell away from Merseyside since signing for LFC in 2017, and has been enjoying regular game-time in Amsterdam during a turbulent campaign which has already seen Arne Slot’s former assistant Johnny Heitinga sacked as head coach.

The 24-year-old has played only twice for Liverpool’s first team (as a late substitute against Crystal Palace in October 2024 and as a starter in a Carabao Cup win at Brighton a few weeks later), but he hasn’t given up on becoming a fixed presence in the starting XI in L4.

Jaros determined to become Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper

The Czechia international outlined two major personal ambitions in an interview with De Telegraaf, consisting of one individual goal and a team objective.

Jaros said: “If I say I’m satisfied, how can I improve? When I’m ready to become Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper – especially with two formidable competitors like Alisson Becker and Giorgi Mamardashvili – is difficult to say.

“Taking their place isn’t easy, but that’s ultimately the goal; and once I succeed, I want to win the Champions League.”

(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Jaros’ ambition to succeed at Liverpool is what we want to hear

Liverpool fans will enjoy hearing the determination and self-confidence from Jaros to eventually succeed Alisson as our first-choice goalkeeper, if Mamardashvili hasn’t done so before him.

The Czech stopper will need to improve his clean sheet ratio if he’s to achieve that goal, though – he’s managed just four shutouts in 16 games for an admittedly rickety Ajax team this season, with 23 goals conceded in that time (Transfermarkt).

However, one of those clean sheets came in a 2-0 win over arch-rivals Feyenoord on Sunday, a fourth consecutive victory in all competition for the resurgent Amsterdam outfit after Heitinga’s prompt dismissal.

While Jaros has hardly had a chance to prove himself at Liverpool, he was praised by Lee Hendrie for a ‘brilliant’ save in the aforementioned game against Brighton last year, while Caoimhin Kelleher has also spoken very highly about the 24-year-old’s talents.

The Ajax loanee certainly appears to have the requisite drive and determination to make the grade at Anfield, but as he acknowledged himself, getting into the side ahead of Alisson and Mamardashvili will be no easy feat.

For now, let’s hope he can continue to enjoy regular game-time in Amsterdam and consistently put in a standard of performance which’d set him up to fulfil his clearly defined ambition of becoming first choice at his parent club and winning Europe’s biggest prize with the Reds.

You can watch Slot’s full post-Brighton press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: