OPINION
Liverpool Football Club are in the market for a new goalkeeper, that much is very much clear.
Loris Karius’ two calamitous errors in the Champions League final have forced Jurgen Klopp’s hand, with the manager previously wanting to hand his German compatriot the chance to make the number one spot his own.
The two names that have been most heavily linked with the club are Roma stopper Alisson and Atletico Madrid ace Jan Oblak, both of whom would be flawless signings.
However, there remain massive obstacles to Liverpool managing to secure either star, and while neither swoop is off the cards yet, it may end up that the Reds need to look elsewhere to solve their issues.
Roma are still smarting at their decision to allow Mohamed Salah to join the Reds for a cut-price £36.9million, with the Serie A giants now holding out for an astronomical fee for Alisson.
Atletico on the other hand look to be making movements to tie Oblak down to a new deal which would see the Slovenian’s release clause rise to around £175million, as reported by AS.
While Liverpool would have the cash to splash out close to £100million on a stopper, there are questions over whether that would be a wise move for the club to make when there are plenty of other brilliant goalkeepers knocking about.
One of those in question is Lazio stopper Thomas Strakosha, who Liverpool are now lining up a £26.2million bid for, according to Tutto Mercato Web.
The Albania international is a young goalkeeper at 23 years of age, but Strakosha has been mightily impressive during his time at Lazio, and looks like he is set to become one of Europe’s best in his position in the coming years.
While a move for Strakosha would be seen as a bigger risk than one for Alisson or Oblak, the fact is that those two deals are looking massively unaffordable right now, and the Albanian is the best alternative.
Despite his young age he would most definitely oust Loris Karius as the club’s number one, with his 6ft 4in frame belying his cat-like reflexes and brilliant distribution.
Even if Liverpool were forced to up their bid to around £30million this would still represent a good deal for the club, and they would potentially be saving around £50million to spend on outfield players.
