Liverpool SERIOUSLY looked into signing €55m French star

Liverpool looked into signing one of France's top prospects. Here's why it ultimately didn't happen.

What a spell in charge it's been for Richard Hughes. The Liverpool sporting director has overseen two wildly different summers since taking over in 2024.

This summer was madness, of course. Liverpool twice broke their transfer record, including the British record, as they overhauled their squad.

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There are new starting options in each full-back position, as well as two new centre-forwards. Florian Wirtz represents an incredibly exciting addition, too, as the team's new playmaker.

Contrast that to 2024. Liverpool signed one new player for the squad - Federico Chiesa at around £10m. Arne Slot still went on to win the Premier League, of course, and he didn't even really use Chiesa.

But the Italian wasn't actually the only player Liverpool bought. They also signed Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia before loaning him back to them for a year.

It was something of a surprise deal - especially as Alisson Becker very much remains at the club. And it turns out he wasn't the only goalkeeper they looked at.

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Liverpool considered Lucas Chevalier

The Times reports that Liverpool also looked into a deal for Lucas Chevalier before settling on Mamardashvili. Chevalier has been a revelation at Lille over the last two seasons before joining Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

And it appears Liverpool saw him as a potential successor to Alisson a year ago. The same can apparently be said for Diogo Costa of FC Porto.

Ultimately, Liverpool went with Mamardashvili, who had just shone at Euro 2024 and looks like one of the best young goalkeepers around. Though, we do wonder how much the Alisson problem played into all of this.

We use ‘problem’ incredibly loosely, of course. But Alisson stands in the way of regular minutes for whoever joins Liverpool - he’s arguably the best in the world. He certainly is in the eyes of anyone associated with the Reds.

Joining Liverpool when you’re developing is a dangerous thing, then. Mamardashvili is still to make his debut, sitting on the bench for the first four fixtures as Alisson plays every minute.

Now, that will change with the number of upcoming games and we know full well that the Brazilian typically has time out over the course of the season. But it’s still a risky move for any goalkeeper making a name for himself.

Mamardashvili was willing to take a chance and compete. Chevalier remained on the market for another year and then moved for a reported €55m all-in, per ESPN.

The Frenchman is now starting for PSG while Mamardashvili still waits for his turn. Two different paths and it’ll be interesting to see where they each land in four or five years time.

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