Within the space of less than 8 months, Liverpool have broken the transfer record fees for a defender and a goalkeeper. The fact that the Merseysiders have now fought off high profile clubs in the chase for Alisson's signature is not only a statement to fans and rival clubs alike, it is first and foremost wholly uncharacteristic of Liverpool's previous transfer business.
As most Liverpool supporters know, the club's transfer bids for top players usually follow a certain script. First a rather underwhelming bid is made which is expectedly turned down by the player's club. Liverpool can then say that they have tried, but were unable to compete with Europe's top dogs, who can can dip into a much bigger war chest. The club then presents a promising talent that may just fill the gap on the respective position, if the player can reach or surpass his presumed potential. While this strategy may have worked perfectly for the likes of Coutinho and Firmino, it is yet to deliver on the promises of Origi, Markovic and Grujic.
Breaking the bank to sign top-class players like Van Dijk and Alisson on positions that have clearly needed significant improvement for some time now is therefore a huge statement. In the case of Van Dijk, criticism of Liverpool's spending policy quickly disappeared after the Dutch immediately made in impact with his calm and assured presence in the CB position. And this will also happen for Alisson in goal. And here's why:
These Alisson stats will get LFC fans excited
The following stats are taken from an excellent article by Joel Rabinowitz, who is a writer for thisisanfield.com. Here's a link to the full article on why Alisson is worth Liverpool paying world-record fee for a goalkeeper. In his article, Rabinowitz outlines, why Alisson simply is the best goal keeper that LFC could have signed.
Statistically, 25-year-old Alisson ranked as one of Europe's elite goalkeepers with an impressive 17 clean sheets in Serie A last season (only former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina topped Alisson with 18 clean sheets). The most impressive features of Alisson's game are his shot-stopping and his distribution. Alisson's saves-to-goals ratio of 3.41 is right up there with David de Gea (3.46), whom I personally rate as the world's best goalkeeper, clearly eclipsing Thibaut Courtois' 2.10, Ederson's 2.17 and, most significantly, Karius' 2.0.
With an overall save success rate of 80.1% Alisson ranked highest of all goalkeepers in Serie A and second of all leagues with Jan Oblak topping the list with an impressive 85.8 percent. Liverpool supporters will also enjoy the fact that Alisson claimed 90 percent of the corners he attempted to win - an area of the game in which both Mignolet and Karius have failed to impress.
As Rabinowitz further emphasizes, Alisson is "far more than simply a fantastic shot-stopper". This is clearly reflected by his distribution stats. Last season, the Brazil No. 1 'keeper managed to reach a superb forward pass completion rate of 77.4 percent with an overall pass completion rate of 81 percent. Only Man City's Ederson (80.3 percent) managed to outclass Alisson in that regard. However, Alisson still clearly outperformed the majority of Premier League goalkeepers with Hugo Lloris (66.9 percent) ranking second highest in the EPL. With the distribution game being a crucial factor in Liverpool's fast counter attacking, Alisson might just prove to be the perfect player in goal.
So all in all, breaking the bank in order to sign Alisson might just turn out to be a great decision for Liverpool, even though Jürgen Klopp might have to eat his words on a few more occasions. Who doesn't remember the LFC manager's remarks regarding the Pogba signing. Nevertheless, even an idealist like Klopp has to admit that the market has changed so significantly within just a few years that it simply requires ludicrous transfer fees, to get the top players that will win you silverware. It is all about investing in the right players for the right positions. And with regard to Van Dijks impact and Alisson's stats, it looks like Liverpool have done their homework this transfer window.
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