Liverpool new summer signing is part of long term plan and already has Alisson experience
At 27 years of age, Liverpool’s Alisson is arguably at the peak of his powers and as a goalkeeper he should have many more seasons at the top left to come.
However, the Reds look to be playing the long game by trying to sign one of his youthful compatriots in his position for Brazil’s number one to take under his wing and learn from the master.
Many credit the signing of Virgil van Dijk in January 2018 as the pivotal moment in turning Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool into a team capable of capturing football’s biggest prizes.
Although it has undoubtedly been a group effort, and the presence of the Dutchman to marshal those around him was a major contributing factor, it was only after the acquisition of Alisson the following summer that the Reds could truly boast an international class player in every position on the pitch.
The former Roma man has proven to be the real deal after so many false dawns and previously derided ‘final pieces of the jigsaw’ at Anfield.
So Klopp will be hoping that the presence of Alisson alongside a prospect like Marcelo Pitaluga, more than a decade his junior, can ultimately provide the club with not one but two outstanding Brazilian goalkeepers after Liverpool sealed a deal with the player’s club Fluminense.
The Premier League champions will pay an initial sum of around £1million for the youngster who has said his goodbyes to team-mates in Brazil.
It is believed that Fluminense have a 25% sell-on clause inserted into deal with Liverpool paying a further sum of around £800,000 in add-ons.
Not 18 until December 20, why are the Reds landing such a player?
Alisson’s trip back to Brazil during the Premier League’s winter break in February, to train alongside his older brother Muriel, who is Fluminense’s first choice keeper, certainly enabled the Liverpool player to work with the youngster up close.
Rio de Janeiro-based football journalist and Fluminense follower Rodrigo Calvozzo told the ECHO: “Alisson is currently considered a reference for all goalkeepers in Brazil.
“This is no different for Marcelo and he showed his satisfaction of being close to the Liverpool’s goalkeeper during the period they were able to train together.
“On his personal Instagram, he made a point of saying that he was having a week of much learning.
“Muriel is also a goalkeeper with a lot of experience and he always highlights Marcelo's desire to learn and grow in the position so this opportunity was certainly very valuable to him.”
Marcelo PitalugaSemana de muito aprendizado com @alissonbecker! 🙏🏻
Although Marcelo does not have any first team experience yet, he has impressed for Fluminense playing in junior tournaments and with German ancestry like Alisson, his dual citizenship is also an advantage when it comes to the prospect of bringing him to the UK.
Calvozzo said: “Marcelo has always been mentioned as one of the great prospects in the Fluminense base but he never had an opportunity in the senior team.
“As a promising talent, he was integrated into the professional squad and is currently the fourth option for goalkeeper.
“When Muriel suffered an injury in 2019, Marcelo was listed in the squad for two matches, but did not have an opportunity to make his professional debut.
“At the beginning of the year he participated in the São Paulo Cup (the main tournament for young players in Brazil) where he performed well.
“Despite being very young, he demonstrated the kind of tranquillity and agility that the position requires.
“In June he suffered a fractured finger, but he is already recovered from the problem.
“An important point worth mentioning is that Marcelo has dual citizenship as besides being Brazilian he is also German.”
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Liverpool’s pursuit of Marcelo highlights a growing trend of European clubs identifying Brazilian talent from an early age and trying to prise them from their local teams before they’ve even had the chance to play top flight football in their homeland.
It’s a phenomenon that is becoming more prevalent and current Reds star Fabinho, now 26, left Marcelo’s club Fluminense back in 2012 without playing a first team game.
Calvozzo said: “This is a much debated point here and it is a concern for two main reasons.
“First, for our clubs, because they have very bad administration that allows this type of negotiation, as they need to make sales, so that they can pay their commitments or part of them.
“The second aspect reflects especially on our national team, as we increasingly perceive Brazilian players as losing our style of play and acting in a way that is more adapted to European football.
“The natural talent, which has always weighed in favour of our team is being underestimated and that is why we realise more and more that Brazil is unable to impose its own way of playing.
“In addition, because they are athletes who spend almost their entire career away from the Brazilian fans, they have virtually no identity in the country because they did not represent any of our clubs before moving to European football.”
*What trait would you most like to see Alisson pass on to Liverpool's younger goalkeepers? Let us know in the comments section below.