Liverpool are set undergo some change in the goalkeeping department in the summer but Nantes shot-stopper Anthony Lopes now reveals he could have made the move to Anfield but turned the opportunity down.
Arne Slot’s side is top of the Premier League and despite a tricky 2-1 win over Wolves on Sunday, the Reds are continuing their dominant run of form this season. However, there is a lot of uncertainty over the future of the squad.
Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are still locked in contract negotiation talks with the club. While no decision has been made yet, the clock is ticking and the longer the season draws on without any extensions, the greater the chance that all three will leave.
Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Caoimhin Kelleher are all linked with summer exits with the latter almost certain to leave. The 26-year-old goalkeeper will, barring a major change in plans, will leave in the summer with Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili set to replace him.
Liverpool signed Mamardashvili in the summer and while he remained at Mestalla Stadium, he will join as Alisson Becker’s deputy when the club reconvenes for pre-season in the summer.
However, a claim from Nantes goalkeeper Anthony Lopes suggests that had he accepted an offer from Liverpool, Mamardashvili wouldn’t have been signed.
Anthony Lopes: I could have joined Liverpool but I said no
In an interview with French outlet Carre, via Foot Mercato, Lopes reveals that Liverpool approached him to provide cover for Alisson, likely when it looked like Kelleher would leave, but he said no.
Kelleher ended up staying and so Liverpool signed Mamardashvili and loaned him back to Valencia for the 2024/25 season.
“Did I say no to becoming Liverpool’s number 2? Yes, in June, I said no,” Lopes reveals.
“I’ll be very clear: I didn’t have that option in mind at all. I told myself that I had to keep playing, that I had fire in my legs, and that I couldn’t put my key on the bench, even if it was at Liverpool, Bayern, or elsewhere.
“I’ll be very clear: if this offer had come at the end of August, just before the end of the transfer window, I would have accepted it, I would have left. I would have put my key on the bench, and I would have shut my mouth.”
With no disrespect to Lopes, Kelleher or the incoming Mamardashvili, Liverpool now have bigger things to focus on than backup goalkeepers.
Most important of all is the hunt for the Premier League title and silverware in general but from a squad health perspective, there is a lot to handle at Anfield these days.
Slot’s first season at the club has been intense. The fact that the Dutch coach has a title challenge underway despite the uncertainty surrounding several of his players is incredible.
