Liverpool will face hugely inflated transfer fees for goalkeepers this summer after the blunders from Loris Karius that cost Liverpool the Champions League.
The press who cover Liverpool Football Club are all in agreement; the Reds want to sign a new goalkeeper. For a long time it was uncertain if they wanted a huge upgrade to Alisson Becker from AS Roma or Jan Oblak from Atletico Madrid or simply find a player to compete with Loris Karius.
The Champions League final answered that uncertainty. It is plainly obvious that Loris Karius is going to struggle to reach the level Liverpool need. Maybe he can recover from his howlers on the biggest stage, but Jurgen Klopp may not wait to find out.
Reports from the aftermath of the final loss indicate Liverpool are back again looking at Becker and Oblak and possibly Gianluigi Donnarumma from AC Milan. However they will now face inflated transfer fees.
Now selling clubs can see that Liverpool are desperate for a top quality keeper they are already raising their prices. For over 6 months the price quoted in the press for Alisson has been around £50 million. That has shot up to £80 million since Saturday.
Roma’s goalkeeper Alisson is high on #LFC’s recruitment list just like Nabil Fekir. The Reds, however, would have to pay anything up to £80 million for the Brazilian. [@_pauljoyce] pic.twitter.com/1g7bNGi0ct
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) May 28, 2018
Atletico Madrid are in the process of tying Jan Oblak to a new contract raising his release fee from around £100 million to £140 million. Initial reports of a fee of £30 million for Donnarumma are replaced by new ones quoting £60 million.
Liverpool are used to paying more than most for players. They have more money, relatively speaking than most clubs in the world. Yet they have not had the success to match their history or standing in recent years. They lack the leverage to buy players at competitive prices from most clubs.
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Additionally, teams know that Liverpool have more money than usual. They have most of the money from Philippe Coutinho’s £140 million sale to Barcelona. Add to that a rumored £75 million from the season’s Champions League run. The Reds will struggle to make any value deals this summer.