Liverpool will head into the Premier League season having failed to make a single summer signing.
The Reds kick off their campaign away at Ipswich Town on Saturday without any fresh faces being on display in the playing staff.
That will be a big disappointment for supporters, with the chance to get a first look at new additions all part of the fun of opening day in the Premier League.
With less than two weeks now remaining in the transfer window, there is a nervousness that Liverpool will not add anyone new for Arne Slot to work with.
However, as time ticks down until deadline day, it appears that the Reds are at least doing something to future-proof their first-team squad.
Liverpool progressing in Giorgi Mamardashvili deal
It looks unlikely that Liverpool will buy a defensive midfielder this summer. There also seems to be a relatively good chance that no defender is added to the team either.
Instead, sporting director Richard Hughes has rather bizarrely decided that bringing in a new, future first-choice goalkeeper should be the first order of business.
Alisson Becker’s future has been the subject of much discussion this summer as the Saudi Arabian clubs reinforced their interest in him. But Alisson is going nowhere this year.
As a result, the Reds do not need to bring in a new, expensive goalkeeper. Nevertheless, Liverpool have been in talks to sign Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia.
READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano reveals what Liverpool are doing about buying a new defender
Valencia manager Ruben Baraja said Mamardashvili will play against Barcelona in his team’s opening La Liga fixture on Saturday. But according to journalist Graeme Bailey, this is unlikely to affect a deal with Liverpool, which ‘has progressed.’
“Valencia have got a replacement already signed anyway, he’s already there,” Bailey exclusively tells Rousing The Kop. “It’s progressed, the player has obviously signalled his interest in doing such a deal.
“It’s a strange one which has caught a few by surprise. I think it’s a very strange deal,” adds the reporter. “You are future proofing to a certain degree but Alisson’s coming into his prime now. Is Mamardashvili the best young keeper in the world? Possibly, but that’s up for debate.
“We’ll see what they do with it, he could end up at a Nottingham Forest or Bournemouth on loan.”
What is the plan with Mamardashvili
This has indeed felt like a very strange transfer saga from a Liverpool point of view.
It had seemed like a goalkeeper might be signed to replace Caoimhin Kelleher or Adrian this summer, but not one to succeed Alisson.
Mamardashvili could cost Liverpool around £34m and for that price, you’d imagine they’d have him earmarked as a future starter.
But with Alisson still around, it has been claimed that Liverpool could loan Mamardashvili for up to three years. In that sense, the Georgian could very much become the Reds’ own version of Thibaut Courtois.
Courtois’ three-year loan to Atletico Madrid from Chelsea certainly worked out well for all parties involved. If a similar thing happened here, it could still end up being a very smart piece of business.
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