Liverpool have made a new bid of €75m (£66.9m) for Alisson and are close to sealing a world-record deal for the Roma goalkeeper.
The Premier League club made an initial €70m bid for the Brazilian on Tuesday, which was rejected, but the clubs are now close to reaching a deal and Liverpool are making arrangements for the 25-year-old’s medical, reports Guardian UK.
Liverpool and Roma were in talks on Wednesday, ironing out details over how the fee will be structured.
Chelsea were ready to move for Alisson if Thibaut Courtois departed but Liverpool have acted swiftly in an attempt to secure their No 1 goalkeeper target. Chelsea had, by Wednesday morning, not made an offer. Alisson spoke to the Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, on Tuesday and has his heart set on a move to the Champions League finalists.
The Brazil international will replace Loris Karius as Klopp’s No 1.
The goalkeeping position has been problematic at the club for several years and neither Karius nor Simon Mignolet has convinced the German manager they are a long-term solution.
Alisson joined Roma from Internacional in 2016 for €7.5m. He spent the first season as Wojciech Szczesny’s back-up and did not play a league game. Last season, after the Pole left for Juventus, Alisson became first choice and helped Roma reach the Champions League semi-finals, where they were eliminated by Liverpool.
Alisson would become Liverpool’s fourth summer signing after the arrivals of Naby Keïta from RB Leipzig (£52.8m), Fabinho from Monaco (£40m) and Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City (£13.5m). The fee for Alisson would be a record for a goalkeeper, eclipsing the €53m paid by Juventus for Gianluigi Buffon in 2001 and the €40m it cost Manchester City to buy Ederson from Benfica last summer.
Source: Punch
