Reports: Alisson flying to Liverpool to seal move

A deal between Liverpool and Roma for Brazil international goalkeeper Alisson Becker is close to being agreed, according to reports. Gianluca di Marzio claims the Brazilian will fly to Liverpool on Wednesday night to seal the move.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has long been an admirer of the 25-year-old and has instructed the Anfield board to sanction a move as he seeks an upgrade in his number one department with Loris Karius failing to hold on to his opportunity after he displaced the equally suspect Simon Mignolet between the sticks halfway through last season.

Their are few higher profile stages than the Champions League final and Karuis' costly blunder in Kiev was always likely to prove the final straw for Klopp, whose patience has not been rewarded with reliability.

Klopp to turn to Alisson after Karius experiment

Liverpool finished a distant fourth in the Premier League last season, fully 25 points behind Manchester City despite outscoring every side other than Pep Guardiola's. However, it was in Europe that Klopp's side really caught the eye, breaking the record for goals scored in the group stage before dispatching Porto, City and Roma by aggregate scorelines of 5-0, 5-1 and 7-6.

Many observers have stated that Liverpool are only a world-class keeper away from challenging for the league title and their run in Europe last season may not be a one-off given their attacking potential and the addition of Fabinho to their ranks to provide a shield in front of an occasionally questionable defence.

Klopp appears now to have been swayed in that direction and if Liverpool complete a deal for Alisson the Brazilian will become the most expensive keeper in the history of the sport with a fee of 75 million euros being suggested. That would outstrip the record long held by Gianluigi Buffon, who cost Juventus 52 million euros when he moved from Parma in 2001.