Jurgen Klopp has conceded that if Liverpool had completed the signing of Nabil Fekir in the summer of 2018, it could have meant missing out on securing Alisson Becker.
Fekir, at the time with Real Betis, was the epicenter of that summer’s transfer drama for Liverpool supporters, as the forward almost finalized a move to Anfield.
Despite official club photos being snapped, the $71 million (£52 million) deal dramatically collapsed at the last moment. Liverpool swiftly moved past the Fekir debacle, bolstering the squad with Xherdan Shaqiri, Fabinho, and Naby Keita, in addition to the acquisition of Virgil van Dijk, who joined earlier in January.
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Yet, it was the capture of Alisson that truly redefined Liverpool’s modern era, with the Brazilian custodian having a monumental effect on a team that had previously been defeated in the 2018 Champions League final by Real Madrid, partly due to significant blunders from then number one Loris Karius.
Klopp, reflecting within Liverpool’s new documentary charting Alisson’s trajectory, termed the switch from Roma as his “dream” acquisition.
He reflected: “We all know the story around the Champions League final. We had to estimate, to judge, how [Karius] would deal, how the public would deal with that.
“We were all hoping he could become stronger after that, maybe it can be a turning point into a good direction. But then all of a sudden we heard then that Ali is on the market.
“It was my absolute dream. When you dream or think about the team, you set it up from the back. And that was the moment we said: ‘Okay, we have to try it’.
“The interesting part is that we were close to signing Fekir. And if we sign Fekir, we don’t have the money for Ali. It was obviously a pretty important decision for the future of LFC!”.
(Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)© (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
Alisson’s impact at Liverpool has been nothing short of transformative, with 298 appearances under his belt, a cabinet full of major trophies, and even a goal to his name, he certainly made an immediate impact.
Klopp himself was astounded by Alisson’s prowess during his initial training session with the club, alongside then-goalkeeper coach John Achterberg, who played a pivotal role in Liverpool’s goalkeeper acquisitions and was equally impressed.
He remarked: “We spoke obviously before, just on the phone, but I was so impressed by the god. Oh my god. Maybe there’s footage of that first session, possibly. He made a few saves and we were like ‘what?!’
“Shots from 10, 12 yards, far corner, and he just [got to them]. ‘Oh, that’s possible? Great’. We were a bit like kids in a candy shop, ‘oh my god, what did we get here?’.
“John Achterberg, it’s like he got a Christmas present, ‘oh my god, Alisson Becker is now around!’.”