Liverpool face a goalkeeper crossroads as Alisson’s long-term future at the club looks uncertain. The 33-year-old has been limited by injuries in each of the last three seasons and is heavily linked with a return to Serie A, with Juventus touted as a possible destination. That backdrop, and wider turnover at the club with Mohamed Salah reportedly leaving next month and Virgil van Dijk out of contract in 2027, means Liverpool must consider what comes next.

The most straightforward option is the player already signed as part of the succession plan. Liverpool moved for Giorgi Mamardashvili after his displays for Georgia at Euro 2024 and secured the deal from Valencia a year ahead of time. He eventually made the switch from Valencia last summer, but a patchy first season and a poor end to 2024–25 have left supporters unsure he can supplant Alisson immediately. The chance to cement his claim arrived during Alisson’s recent absence but Mamardashvili was injured himself. Logistically and financially he is the easier choice, though whether that would be Liverpool ‘settling’ for second best is another debate.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Chevalier is another name mooted. Only a year ago he was Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year ahead of Gianluigi Donnarumma, and PSG paid an initial $47 million to Lille. Chevalier endured a disastrous first season with PSG, was permanently dropped at the end of January and Matfey Safonov has not relinquished the gloves. PSG could fund an approach by selling Chevalier, who might benefit from a career reset.

Emiliano Martínez has been linked with moves away before. He “basically said goodbye to Aston Villa at the end of last season,” a transfer did not materialise and he stayed. The two-time Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper hoped to join Manchester United last year but that is no longer an option. From an age perspective he is a short-term fix and is a few weeks older than Alisson, though he brings 211 Premier League appearances since 2020.

Finally, there are younger Premier League-proven options. Brighton & Hove Albion’s Bart Verbruggen, 23, has matched Alisson’s nine clean sheets in 2025–26 and his side have conceded 42 goals in 35 matches. Sunderland’s Robin Roefs is mentioned as a potentially more affordable alternative. Đorđe Petrović, back in the Premier League with Bournemouth, has one more clean sheet (10) than Verbruggen and Alisson as the Cherries chase their highest ever league finish.

Arne Slot was reportedly sounded out as a potential candidate to take charge of Dutch giants Ajax this coming summer. According to reporting, those enquiries were quickly unsuccessful, reinforcing Liverpool’s firm stance that Slot will remain manager.

The four-time European champions currently lie fourth in the Dutch league, 23 points adrift of champions PSV Eindhoven with only two matches of a miserable campaign remaining. Caretaker manager Óscar García is set to part ways with the club over the summer and the net of potential suitors has been cast by sporting director Jordi Cruyff. Mike Verweij of the Dutch publication De Telegraaf recently revealed that inquiries over Slot’s availability have been made by Ajax. They proved “futile.”

Verweij quoted sources who insisted: “Slot is still firmly in the driver’s seat; he’s just carrying on at Liverpool,” and added, “I also understand that Arne Slot isn’t particularly keen on joining Ajax at this point in his career.” Those lines of reporting underline a clear message from Liverpool and their decision-makers.

The club’s ownership has remained publicly unyielding even as performances have fallen from the title-winning campaign. “Fans get frustrated,” the head of Liverpool’s ownership company, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) told the Sports Business Journal this week. Boasting a majority stake in MLB franchise the Boston Red Sox as well as investment in NHL and NASCAR, Henry has developed a thick skin. “The Sox looked terrible for [their] first 25 games,” Henry continued. “I remember a plane flying overhead when we [Liverpool ] were beating Manchester United 7–0 that read ‘FSG OUT!’

“It doesn’t mean you ignore them, it means you work harder—you don’t settle for mediocrity. You have to win.”

Premier League statistics supplied in the report show the contrast between seasons:
2024–25: Games 38, Wins 25, Draws 9, Losses 4, Goals Scored 86, Goals Against 41, Goal Difference +45, Points 84.
2025–26: Games 35, Wins 17, Draws 7, Losses 11, Goals Scored 59, Goals Against 47, Goal Difference +12, Points 58.

Throughout FSG’s 16-year ownership of Liverpool, Henry has only sacked two managers: Roy Hodgson in January 2011 and Brendan Rodgers in October 2015 after a period of decline following the 2013–14 season.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted the 3–2 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday exposed the two dominant strands of his team’s season: contentious refereeing decisions and a handful of “stupid” mistakes from his players. He challenged one pivotal decision but also accepted his side’s sloppy play gave the moment its opportunity.

“If it was a touch, which I think it is, because if you know a bit about ball sports, you know that if a ball has a certain curve and the curve changes, there must have been a contact,” Slot said. He added: “But if it’s light then we should have a debate in football about whether that’s enough to disallow a goal. But the rule is if there was a touch then it should have been disallowed.”

Slot insisted the pattern of contentious decisions has been a recurring theme this season. “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone this season that if there’s a VAR intervention or if there’s something that could be left or could be right then the decision goes against us. That has been the whole season every single time this season. I remember Paris Saint-Germain at home , getting a penalty for a soft touch on [Alexis] Mac Allister but of course the VAR intervenes and says, ‘No, no, no, this is not a penalty.’ Then one week later when I see Paris Saint-Germain play against Bayern Munich and get that same soft touch but the penalty stays.”

He contrasted incidents in which play was not stopped for injury with others where it was, and stressed self-examination. “We have to first look at ourselves, that is completely clear and obvious, but that decisions have gone every single game against us, that’s also completely clear and obvious.”

Slot noted moments of poor concentration and a turnover that led to the second goal: “we lost the ball in a stupid position and we lost a few big moments afterwards in duels.” The club appears settled on his future: his position is understood to be safe and Liverpool are keeping last season’s title in view. With Champions League qualification largely secure — six points clear with three games left — Slot must now map out how to correct the recurring faults exposed this campaign.