Alisson’s presence at Liverpool makes it difficult for Jurgen Klopp to attract a decent back-up goalkeeper reckons a former Reds player.
Since moving to Anfield from Roma for a £66.8million fee in January – which briefly made him the world’s most-expensive player in his position before the amount was eclipsed by the £71.6million that Chelsea paid Athletic Bilbao for Kepa Arrizabalaga a month later – the Brazil international has earned a reputation as being one of the world’s top keepers.
However, after picking up a calf injury in Liverpool’s opening game of the 2019/20 Premier League title-winning season, Alisson would go on to spend two months on the sidelines.
He is currently suffering with a shoulder injury that is expected to keep him out for around six weeks and on both occasions, former West Ham United man Adrian has acted as his deputy after replacing the Club Brugge-bound Simon Mignolet who returned to Belgium last year.
Spaniard Adrian enjoyed a dream start to his Liverpool career as the penalty hero against Chelsea to secure shoot-out success in the UEFA Super Cup on his first start but a series of errors have placed his form under scrutiny since.
Although Liverpool won all the Premier League games that Adrian played in last season, he made a mistake leading to a Southampton goal on his first domestic start and then came under fire for his display against Atletico Madrid in the Reds Champions League exit.
This term, in Jurgen Klopp’s side’s last match, a shocking 7-2 humbling at Aston Villa, it was Adrian’s slack ball across his own penalty area to Joe Gomez that led to the home side’s first goal for Ollie Watkins just four minutes into the contest.
Scouser Tony Warner knows all about the trials and tribulations of being Liverpool’s understudy goalkeeper.
Although he went on to enjoy a career of 398 senior matches, his time among the professional ranks started with the Reds, spending five seasons at his home city club between 1994-99, without playing a single game.
Now goalkeeping coach at Accrington Stanley, Warner, 46, told the Athletic : “Sometimes the devil you know is better than one you don’t.
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“No one would have expected Alisson to get another bad injury so essentially you would have been trying to sign someone who has been playing regularly and doing really well elsewhere and is willing to give that up to be a squad player.
“It doesn’t happen often.
“The best example I can think of is when Asmir Begovic, an established Premier League keeper, went from Stoke to Chelsea as back-up to Thibaut Courtois.”
