‘Messi of keepers’ can complete Klopp jigsaw

JURGEN KLOPP will be banking on Alisson being the missing piece in his jigsaw.

The Liverpool boss has seen his side score for fun. He has invested heavily in his midfield this summer and shattered the club’s transfer record by signing defender Virgil van Dijk in January.

Now he has pounced for the man once described as “the Lionel Messi of keepers”.

While Kop boss Klopp was prepared to back Loris Karius after his Champions League Final horror show, the Roma keeper has been a target for at least 12 months.

Liverpool were always keen on Alisson but a series of events have made them play their hand now rather than wait any longer.

It looked at one stage last season like Karius could reach the level required to be Liverpool’s longterm No.1. But when he gifted Real Madrid two goals in the 3-1 defeat in Kiev, it was game over.

Karius may have been concussed in the final by the elbow of Sergio Ramos but it was going to be difficult for him to recover from the mental scars from that game. Liverpool had to decide if they wanted to cough up the cash immediately, knowing Roma were in a position of strength as they did not need to sell.

The Serie A side were also unhappy at having sold Mo Salah too cheaply, at £36m, to the Reds 12 months earlier.

Liverpool could have waited to see how the summer played out, in the hope Karius would recover.

Mocked

That option was unlikely once the German keeper dropped a clanger in a preseason game against Tranmere last week.

The pressure intensified on Liverpool to act, as Karius was mocked by opposition fans in what was just a friendly.

How bad would it have been for him when Liverpool visited hostile away grounds for Premier League clashes?

Klopp defended Karius after Kiev and will continue to do so. Should a deal fail to materialise for Alisson, Karius could still start the campaign.

But the Brazilian is the keeper Klopp wants to be playing in goal every week and