Liverpool set to let club legend leave as Everton line up unlikely swap deal
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Welcome to Wednesday’s run through of all the wildest new Premier League transfer rumours that have cropped up in the global media – we’ve got stories for Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Everton fans a little later but today, we’re going to kick off with a report that should interest Liverpool fans. And probably make them a little sad, too.
You’ve probably seen the widespread reports which suggest that Chelsea could make a move for reserve goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher floating around today, but TBR Football go even further by claiming that Arne Slot is “open” to selling club legend Alisson next summer.
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Hide AdThe Brazilian goalkeeper’s place is already under threat thanks to Giorgio Mamardashvili, who was signed last summer but left on loan at Valencia. Already one of the best stoppers in the global game, Mamardashvili is far to good to be a back-up, and that could spell the end for one of Liverpool’s greatest goalies.
Apparently, the club are “confident” that a buyer could be found, but plan to make a final decision after meeting Mamardashvili to hash out details of his immediate future with the club in January.
The 3AM Verdict: This feels less like a rumour and more like an inevitable prediction – even a town like Liverpool ain’t big enough for the both of Mamardashvili and Alisson, both of whom are far too good to warm the bench. There was summer interest from Saudi Arabia, but wherever he goes we suspect Alisson is indeed in his last season at Anfield.
Everton’s Italian job
Over to the other half of Merseyside now, with a story from Sport Witness who cite stories in the Italian media to claim that Everton and AS Roma may figure out a swap deal which would see striker Beto swapped for midfielder Bryan Cristante.
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Hide AdThis is “on the cards” because of the proposed takeover of the club by the Friedkin Group, who already have a majority stake in Roma. Apparently, Everton would also pocket a “small amount” of money in this particular deal, with Roma seeing Beto as the man to back up summer signing Artem Dobvyk.
The 3AM Verdict: We suspect this will be the first of many stories linking Everton and Roma players with trades, an inevitability when new owners with such clear connections to other clubs get involved in a team. That doesn’t make this implausible, necessarily, but take it with a pinch of salt until we get something more concrete. For what it’s worth, this would probably be a very good deal for Everton, although Beto’s eye for an injury-time goal could well be missed.
Liverpool & Spurs set for centre-back scrap
Finally, a nugget of news from Caught Offside, who claim that as Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur chase a new centre-half for next season they could find themselves clashing over the same player – Fulham defender Joachim Andersen, who as most of you will recall only just moved from Crystal Palace and signed a five-year contract a few short months ago.
That hasn’t deterred either team, according to the report, nor indeed Juventus. It is noted that he is just “one of the names on their lists” rather than a clear-cut priority, which might temper some expectations, and it’s also reported that Fulham feel “no pressure to sell”, which is understandable given that the Dane only just showed up at Craven Cottage.
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Hide AdThe 3AM Verdict: Stranger things have happened, but we’d be very surprised if either Liverpool or Spurs signed Andersen next summer – his contract means that he would probably cost at least as much as several younger and potentially better players around Europe. The lack of detail in the article doesn’t help to make it any more convincing.
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