Liverpool block summer sale as Juventus and Inter Milan prepare for battle over ‘world-class’ star | OneFootball

Liverpool are set to block any transfer interest in Alisson over the summer as they look for him to see out his contract, according to reports.

The Brazil international has once again been a steady pair of hands for the Reds this season but there are increasing rumours that injury-prone Alisson could leave in the summer.

His potential long-term replacement, Giorgi Mamardashvili, is already in situ after Liverpool brought the Georgia international to Anfield from Valencia in the summer.

Mamardashvili will get a chance in between the sticks on Tuesday evening with Alisson not fit enough to face Galatasaray in their Champions League last-16 clash.

On Alisson’s injury, Arne Slot said on Monday: “Ali, of course, was in the session as many people could see, but unfortunately he felt something towards the end of the session.

“People looked at it and we decided, and he decided together, that it wasn’t good enough to play tomorrow. And then it’s of no use travelling.”

Italian sides Juventus and Inter Milan have been particularly heavily linked with Goal claiming earlier this month that both Serie A clubs are prioritising the signing of a ‘world-class goalkeeper’.

But now journalist Franco Leonetti has revealed that Liverpool are looking to see out Alisson’s contract at Anfield with it “too early to say” if Juventus will make a concrete proposal for the Brazil star.

Leonetti told Radio Bianconera (via TuttoMercatoWeb): “It’s understandable that Juventus are looking for a goalkeeper with international experience. Whether it will be Oblak, Alisson, or someone else is too early to say. Regarding Alisson, the English club are saying that they would like to respect his contract until June 2027.”

Fabrizio Romano revealed earlier this week that Alisson intends to stay at Liverpool next season but things could change if the Reds “decide to put him on the market”.

Romano said: “There’s a lot of talk about both Juventus and Inter, so in recent hours the name [Alisson] has been circulating with both clubs, who are evidently looking for a goalkeeper for next summer.

“I can tell you that at the moment, what we know about Alisson is that he intends to stay at Liverpool for another year. He still has one year left on his contract and Alisson would like to complete it there, so Alisson doesn’t want to leave at the moment. Should Liverpool decide to put him on the market, we’ll see about that.”

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Friedel “would do everything I possibly could to keep” Alisson at Anfield if he were the Reds manager.

Friedel told Nettotobak: “You have to look at the greats, your goalkeeping greats, and what happened for a short time while teams try and figure out how to replace them. It usually takes a while.

“Look at what happened to United when [Peter] Schmeichel left and how long it took to find [Edwin] van der Sar, how many goalkeepers they went through before they got there. I know [Fabien] Barthez was there for a short while, but he wasn’t Van der Sar.

“I think Alisson is the best. I like all parts of his game. I think he doesn’t have a true weakness. Are there people that might be a little better with their feet? Yes, but he is still very good with his feet.

“There are certain players that would take a long time to replace and certain players that would leave a huge dent if they left. He is one of those. I have no idea what is going on with his contract, but I would do everything I possibly could to keep him there for as long as possible – squeeze every ounce of talent that you can out of the guy until he can’t walk any more, then give him an incredible send-off and shake his hand.”