The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Reds agree record fee for keeper Alisson
£67m stopper on way in as Oxlade-Chamberlain is ruled out for season
Liverpool are closing in on a worldrecord deal for Roma goalkeeper Alisson.
It is believed the Reds have agreed to meet Roma’s valuation of 75 million euros (approximately £67 million) for the first-choice Brazil international.
The current record transfer in pounds for a goalkeeper is the £35 million paid to Benfica by Manchester City for Alisson’s compatriot Ederson last summer, while the highest price in euros was Gianluigi Buffon’s 53 million move to Juventus back in 2001.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has given public backing to Loris Karius following his calamitous Champions League final performance but has made signing a goalkeeper a priority.
The club are not prepared to say anything publicly until the deal is completed and as yet no medical has been arranged, with the possibility remaining that another club could match Liverpool’s offer.
Chelsea have also been linked with the 25-year-old, who began his career with Internacional before moving to Roma two years ago.
Italian website Forza Roma, which is affiliated to newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport, published a video which it said showed Alisson at Rome’s Ciampino airport. It said he was preparing to board a private jet to Manchester and was on his way to Liverpool for a medical on Saturday.
Alisson spoke in the video, saying: “Greetings to Roma fans. I’m sorry but I cannot say any more, I’ll say everything later.”
As Klopp prepared to add to his squad it was confirmed that Alex OxladeChamberlain is likely to miss the whole of the forthcoming season.
The extent of the knee injury suffered by the Liverpool midfielder during the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Roma in April has now been revealed.
The 24-year-old sustained what has been described as multiple ligament damage in a tackle and underwent successful surgery eight days later.
He will not need to go under the knife again but faces a long rehabilitation programme before he will be able to return to competitive action.
A statement from Liverpool read: “The estimated length of his lay-off was not revealed at the time at the request of Oxlade-Chamberlain, who did not want the news to distract from the Reds’ ongoing Champions League run and the excitement surrounding it.”
The news will come as a huge blow and a shock to Liverpool fans, with Oxlade-Chamberlain among their star performers during the latter stages of last season.
Klopp told liverpoolfc.com: “It feels like now is an appropriate time to tell people that for Ox this coming season will be about focusing on recovery and rehab.
“We have known this from pretty much the day after he got the injury and after the successful surgery, we were sure of it.
“I hope everyone treats this information responsibly. There has been no change, no setback – it’s exactly on the schedule we expected and planned for. The new information is that we’re now giving more detail publicly.
“It is typical of Ox that he didn’t want the news to overshadow the end of the season and, to be quite honest, we thought we could wait and tell people at an appropriate time.
“His recovery has started superbly well. If we do see him back this season it will be a bonus.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain brought to an end a six-year stay at Arsenal by joining Liverpool last summer in a £35 million deal.
Strengthening his midfield has been one of Klopp’s main priorities in the transfer window so far, with Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri all arriving at Anfield.