Empire of the Kop
·10 July 2024
Liverpool considering swoop for unsung hero of Real Madrid’s Champions League triumph – report
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·10 July 2024
Liverpool have been linked with yet another Real Madrid player during this summer’s transfer window.
The likes of Arda Guler and Rodrygo have been mentioned as players of interest to the Reds over the past few weeks, however implausible those transfers might seem.
According to Graeme Bailey for HITC, the Merseyside giants are considering a move for Andriy Lunin as a possible replacement for either Alisson Becker or Caoimhin Kelleher.
The former is being targeted by clubs from the Saudi Pro League (TEAMtalk), while the latter has hinted at a desire to establish himself as a firm first-choice away from Liverpool.
Euro 2024 was a tournament to forget for Lunin, who was culpable of two costly errors in Ukraine’s 3-0 defeat to Romania in their group opener and duly lost his place to Anatoliy Trubin.
However, the Real Madrid stopper was an unsung hero of his club’s Champions League triumph last season, playing eight matches on their journey to the final in the injury-enforced absence of Thibaut Courtois, who returned for the showpiece against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
The 25-year-old played in all of Los Blancos’ knockout round matches up to that point, saving two penalties in the shootout win over Manchester City in the quarter-finals, and conceded under a goal per game in LaLiga (17 in 21 matches), with a clean sheet rate of 47.6% (10).
With the Belgian scourge of our defeat at the Stade de France in 2022 now fully fit once again, Lunin could find himself struggling for game-time at the Bernabeu, and he’s also into the final year of his contract in the Spanish capital.
Obviously he isn’t in the same bracket as Alisson, who we fervently hope will stay at Liverpool despite the Saudi interest, but the Ukrainian could be a decent backup to call upon if Kelleher goes.
A move for the Real Madrid goalkeeper may need a domino to fall at Anfield first, but if it does, we’d imagine that Richard Hughes will then be jolted into action.