Liverpool fans will be very excited to see goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili in action at Anfield next season.
Mamardashvili was Arne Slot’s first signing as Liverpool manager, but the Georgian will not be available to the Dutchman until next summer.
Alisson helped with Liverpool’s deal for Mamardashvili, who will stay at La Liga club Valencia for the current season.
Mamardashvili’s leadership was key to the transfer, with Federico Chiesa joining the goalkeeper in the Anfield arrivals department this summer.
The former is currently on international duty with Georgia, having recently helped his nation reach the last 16 of Euro 2024.
Why is Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili so good at saving penalties?
Mamardashvili made a record-equalling 21 saves in the group stages, with Spanish football expert Dermot Corrigan now providing further insight into the goalkeeper’s ability.
When asked to discuss the player’s shot-stopping and penalty-saving abilities, The Athletic’s La Liga correspondent told the Liverpool website: “He’s a big, physically imposing guy with a lot of personality, he likes to be involved in the game.
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“Penalties are where goalkeepers get a chance to shine. He saved three of six penalties faced in La Liga last season, which is a pretty good record.
“Valencia’s goalkeeping coach is Jose Manuel Ochotorena – he was at Liverpool with Rafa [Benitez] and also with the Spain national team all through their golden age, winning the 2010 World Cup and two Euros, working with Iker Casillas and Pepe Reina. So he’s had that technical grounding.
“He’s come in with the raw talent that he always had – physically he’s huge and he has the reflexes and everything – but he’s been able to work for a couple of years at Valencia with one of the top goalkeeping coaches in the world, you could argue, which has obviously been good for him.”
What will happen to Alisson and Caoimhin Kelleher at Liverpool?
An ability to save penalties is simply a bonus for the Reds, who will have signed the goalkeeper for his overall game, and indeed his potential.
Liverpool do, of course, already have a penalty expert in Caoimhin Kelleher, although his future is now very much up in the air after the deal for Mamardashvili.
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It even casts doubt on Alisson’s position at the club, with the Brazilian having been the number one for several seasons now.
Alisson is one of the best goalkeepers in world football, and a Merseyside exit would be a huge blow for the Reds.
It is an interesting time in the Liverpool goalkeeping department, with nobody quite sure who the numbers one and two will be this time next year.
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