Former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibault Cortious helped Liverpool land transfer target Alisson Becker two years ago and this is how.
Jurgen Klopp knew that Liverpool had to upgrade their goalkeeper last summer, especially after the disastrous Champions League final against Real Madrid in which a concussed Loris Karius conceded two howlers.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein has tweeted a snippet to one of his stories about Chelsea, in which he mentions the chase for Alisson and how it impacted transfer plans on Stamford Bridge.
Back then, Cortious was still turning out for the London outfit and there was a little bit of ‘will he, won’t he’ about the rumour of the time: that the Belgian would be on his way to Madrid.
Chelsea hesitated over Alisson in hope Courtois would stay, Liverpool capitalised & #CFC paid more for Kepa - a rare mishap for their highly-rated recruitment set-up. That + more with @liam_twomey @domfifield @SJohnsonSport @AdamCrafton_ for @TheAthleticUK https://t.co/7qAHQJmWU8
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) April 1, 2020
Chelsea hoped that he wouldn’t be and neglected to make strong contingency plans – the complete contrast to Liverpool, who knew as soon as the final whistle blew in Ukraine that Karius couldn’t be their man moving forward.
And so it would be that history was made. Micheal Edwards and Klopp didn’t mess around, and boosted by the good relationship AS Roma and the Reds had, a deal was struck to sign Alisson for £65 million.
That dithering by the Blues would prove to be their undoing as Cortious then informed them that he would be moving to Spain in the summer, which left Chelsea a first team goalkeeper short – but with money in the bank and time running out.
Panicked glances were cast around Europe as Stamford Bridge looked for a new stopper. Kepa Arrizabalaga was signed for a massive £71.6 million, said the Guardian, but the lad has struggled to live up to his billing.
Alisson, on the other hand, has not. The Brazilian has taken Liverpool from strength to strength but it could have all been so different had Cortious not mucked Chelsea about and left the deal wide open for Klopp and Edwards to seal without any competition at all.