Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili won’t “tolerate” his current situation and could leave in the near future, according to journalist James Pearce.
Alisson looks back to his best this season, producing an excellent display away to Bournemouth last weekend and making one of the best saves of his Reds career to deny Evanilson in the first half.
The Brazilian colossus spoke of his delight at the hard-earned victory on the south coast, saying: “I think every Premier League match away from home is tough to play. You have to fight a lot [and] this afternoon wasn’t different for us.
“It wasn’t the cleanest performance I think we had, but those games, if you don’t play so well and then you still win it, keep the clean sheet, I think this brings confidence for the team for the rest of the season as well.
“I think at big clubs you’re not going to have much to do sometimes and then you need to be ready to make one save that can help the team. That’s part of my job, I’m there for it. I’m happy that this afternoon it contributed to the three points and to getting the clean sheet.”
The hope is that Alisson stays at Liverpool beyond this season, but speaking on The Athletic’s Walk On podcast [via Empire of the Kop], Pearce hinted that Mamardashvili could depart if that happens:
“If Alisson does stay, Mamardashvili isn’t going to tolerate being backup for a third successive season. If Alisson stays, that probably means that Mamardashvili goes, and then they’ve invested a lot of money in this young Belgian goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans. Then you’ve got [Vitezslav] Jaros; he’ll be back in a few months. They’ve got Armin Pecsi, who’s out on loan in Austria at the moment.
“I get the feeling that they’re quite happy with what they’ve got further down the line in terms of five, six, seven years’ time, but the immediate future is really uncertain.”
Is Giorgi Mamardashvili good enough for Liverpool?
When Alisson eventually leaves Liverpool, he will leave an enormous void between the sticks, much like Virgil van Dijk will in front of him.
As mentioned, the hope is that the 33-year-old signs a contract extension, rather than leaving before the end of this season, but is Mamardashvili the man to fill in if that does happen?
The Georgian hasn’t fully convinced yet, despite some good moments, with his distribution shaky at times and not enough authority from corners for a man his size.
Liverpool need full confidence in Alisson’s eventual replacement being an outstanding option, but there are doubts about Mamardashvili in that respect.
In an ideal world, Alisson will remain at Anfield for another two or three years, before a young goalkeeper is brought in to be his successor, rather than Mamardashvili, on current evidence.
He is still only 25 years of age, however, which is young for a ‘keeper, so he has plenty of improving to do, and he couldn’t be working alongside a better role model.
