John Achterberg confirms Liverpool signed Alisson Becker thanks to Nabil Fekir deal collapse
When one door closes, another door opens. Liverpool found out just how true this quote is following the collapse of their pursuit of Nabil Fekir in the 2018 summer transfer window.
The Frenchman looked set to move to Anfield and even appeared to have an unveiling video ready. However, the deal fell through at the 12th hour thanks to what was at the time revealed to be a knee issue. The player has since clarified that fitness concerns were not the deciding factor, but rather his agent’s antics.
While Liverpool fans have every reason to be upset about failing to land the dynamic Frenchman, the story had a silver lining the very same summer. John Achterberg, Liverpool’s goalkeeping coach at the time, recently shared how the failed Fekir transfer led to a pivotal signing.
Speaking on The Football Historian Podcast via Youtube, Achterberg explained that if Fekir had joined, Liverpool wouldn’t have had the funds to buy Alisson Becker from Roma. Following Loris Karius’ poor performance in the 2018 Champions League final and Danny Ward’s struggles in pre-season, Klopp and Achterberg decided a new goalkeeper was essential. But then, we are not Manchester City to dip into an endless pot of cash.
“We were fortunate that the Fekir deal fell through. I told Klopp, ‘We need to act quickly because Chelsea also want Alisson and they will sell Courtois to Real Madrid.’”
This urgency allowed Liverpool to secure Alisson for £66.8 million, a then-record fee for a goalkeeper. Given that Chelsea were also in the mix, the Reds had to act fast to secure their fan. Given that the Blues went on to make Kepa Arrizabalaga the most expensive goalkeeper in history that very summer, we can consider ourselves fortunate that we were not caught in a bidding war for Alisson.
The Brazilian’s signing was transformative for Liverpool. The Brazilian goalkeeper played a key role in their 2018/19 Champions League victory and contributed significantly to winning the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, European Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. Alisson also became the first Liverpool goalkeeper to score in a competitive Premier League match, netting a stoppage-time winner against West Bromwich Albion in May 2021.
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Alisson is a key member of the Liverpool squad that won it all and is arguably the best goalkeeper in world football today. He is expected to play a similarly key role in the Arne Slot era as we look to build upon our success.
Missing out on Fekir is certainly an opportunity lost but we cannot say how signing the Frenchman could have turned out. But Alisson has been a game-changing addition and we for now have no regrets on how things turned out.
