Alisson Becker has turned out to be one of Liverpool’s most impactful signings in recent history.

If Reds fans were asked to think about the signing who has revolutionised the team the most in the last 10 years, the majority would say either Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah or Alisson.

The latter has, arguably, been the most important as he has the hardest job of them all and finding a top-quality goalkeeper with his level of consistency can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack at points.

The Brazilian has firmly established himself as one of, if not the, world’s best shot-stoppers and the £67m they spent on him, which was a record for a goalkeeper at the time, now looks like a bargain.

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However, Jurgen Klopp, who was key in bringing Alisson to Anfield, has admitted that they almost missed out on signing him back in 2018 because of a certain player, one who many fans are still upset about to this day.

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Nabil Fekir’s failed move to Liverpool was one of the biggest talking points of the Klopp era, and fans still go on about it now.

The Frenchman had everything agreed and had even done his first interview for the club, but the Reds pulled out at the very last minute as they did not want to take the risk on a potential knee problem that was flagged up during his medical.

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Despite the disappointment from fans, Klopp has revealed that it has actually benefitted the club long-term as if the move went through, Alisson may have never joined the club.

“It was my absolute dream [to sign Alisson],” Klopp said when speaking on Alisson Becker’s new documentary.

“The interesting part is that we were close to signing Fekir.

And if we sign Fekir, we don’t have the money for Ali.

“It was obviously a pretty important decision for the future of LFC.”

If the Frenchman joined, who knows who Liverpool would have signed in goal instead, but what is almost guaranteed is that he would have been nowhere near as good as Alisson has been.

Since his failed move to Anfield, Fekir has never gone on to hit the heights he was expected to reach, suggesting Liverpool made the right decision.

The Frenchman stayed at Lyon for another season before moving to Real Betis in Spain, a place where he stayed for six seasons and enjoyed a steady career.

Last season he made the switch to the UAE to play for Al Jazira as he enters the twilight of his career, with the Frenchman registering 12 goal involvements in 20 games for his new club.

It is certainly a shame as the attacking midfielder would have suited Klopp’s system well and been a solid replacement for Philippe Coutinho, although with hindsight, it was the best outcome for the future trajectory of Liverpool Football Club.


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