Record-breaking youngster seemed destined for Real Madrid until decisive Liverpool intervention | OneFootball

One young player snapped up by Liverpool in recent weeks had reportedly seemed destined for Real Madrid until a game-changing intervention from Merseyside chiefs.

On transfer deadline day, the Reds completed a deal to sign Belgian goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans, who’s remained at Genk for this season before he comes to Anfield next summer.

The fee for the 18-year-old could potentially climb as high as £30m, making him the most expensive teenager of all time in his position on the pitch.

How Liverpool beat Real Madrid to sign Brughmans

In his latest Liverpool Confidential feature for the Daily Mail, Lewis Steele outlined how LFC’s director of global talent Matt Newberry acted decisively to land the ‘keeper ahead of the 15-time European champions.

Brughmans ‘had been taken to’ Real Madrid and ‘was expected to follow in the footsteps of his idol Thibaut Courtois’, before the Anfield recruitment team stepped in and ‘sold him the pathway’ with the Reds.

Liverpool made an offer to Genk on the morning of Sunday 30 August, two days before the transfer window shut, and he was ‘on a jet to Merseyside’ by the Monday morning.

(Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

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Credit to Liverpool for acting so decisively

It’s quite rare for Real Madrid to not get what they want in the transfer market (as LFC fans know better than most), so the Anfield hierarchy deserve immense credit for stepping in and luring Brughmans to Merseyside when he seemed destined to join Los Blancos.

Even though Genk were reportedly surprised by how much the Reds offered, the 18-year-old already boasts an excellent reputation, with The Athletic noting his rare combination of commanding stature (he’s 6 foot 7 in height) and ‘explosive movements’ in terms of his agility.

He may have conceded three goals to Club Brugge last weekend, but there’s been other games this season in which the teenage giant has literally saved his team in eye-catching fashion and earned them valuable points.

In time, Brughmans will hope to become the long-term successor to Alisson Becker between the sticks for Liverpool, and our long-serving number 1 will be an incredibly hard act to follow.

However, if the Belgian can fend off competition from Giorgi Mamardashvili and make that transition seamless, LFC’s decisiveness in swooping for him ahead of Real Madrid will come to be regarded as a seminal sliding doors moment.