Liverpool have had an offer accepted for Marcelo Pitaluga.
Brazilian publication UOL reported that the Reds will fork out €2 million for the goalkeeper, while Fluminense will be entitled to 25% of any future sale.
Neither Marcelo Pitalunga or the club felt this was an offer that could be rejected, wrote Caio Blois. Because the 17-year-old has a German passport, he can join Liverpool before he turns 18 and doesn’t have to try and secure a work permit.
This deal should be done in the next couple of days as there are only ‘bureaucratic procedures and contractual arrangements’ to be sorted before everything is announced.
Blois added that Fluminense didn’t want to sell Pitalunga, but were forced into it by the post-COVID financial realities. Liverpool will now get the starlet they’ve been scouting for 12 months, they might even offer his Dad a job to get the deal over the line.
Liverpool are looking at this player with a long-term view in mind. They want him to take over from Alisson, with whom Pitalunga already has a connection.
Alisson’s brother Muriel is the first team goalkeeper at Fluminense; the trio were even pictured together when Alisson returned to Brazil.
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There’s already a fairly strong link between Liverpool, Fluminense and Pitalunga. It’ll take years before the 17-year-old is ready to take over from the current Red incumbent, if he ever is, but scouts have clearly had their eye on him for some time.
Being in possession of a European passport is a massive help, as was his contract expiring in two years. According to UOL, the big fear in Brazil was that Pitalunga would wind down his deal and leave for nothing.
Liverpool are already stacked in his position and have a number of young goalkeepers fighting it out for the chance to break into the first team. 21-year-old pair Kamil Grabara and Caoimhin Kelleher have been joined by Vitezslav Jaros and Ben Winterbottom, while the U18 side has already signed stopper Fabian Mrozek.
It appears as if we’re edging closer to this deal with Marcelo Pitaluga, but it’ll take some time before we see him around the first team.