Jurgen Klopp got plenty of decisions right as Liverpool boss - but bringing in Alisson Becker as his number one could be one of his greatest.

Klopp signed Alisson from AS Roma in the summer of 2018 in a deal worth £65m, making him the most expensive goalkeeper in the world at the time. It was a move which paid off massively as Liverpool went on to win the Champions League, Premier League and FIFA Club World Cup in the next couple of years.

The Brazilian is now regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, but a former Premier League stopper believes Klopp and goalkeeper coach John Achterberg had to make a strong case to bring him to Anfield due to the significant financial outlay. Ex-Manchester United and Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster has hailed the duo for pursuing the deal so vigorously.

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"When Liverpool were looking at Alisson, he's at Roma, he's ripping it up and everybody can see that he's just a new breed of goalie," he said on his 'Fozcast' podcast. "He looks incredible, he's agile, he reads the game and he’s got everything about him.

"Jurgen Klopp's gone to John Achterberg and said we're going to go and watch this guy at Roma - will you come and watch him with me? Then they've got to do the maths and the calculations and it's going to cost about 70 odd million, and wages are going to be crazy.

"They've got to take this to the board and hope they say yes, but they would have fought Alisson's corner so hard. You're getting a guaranteed number one for the next five or ten years and it's worth every single penny.

"Then when it translates, and you get him through the door, and he hits the ground running and turns into one of the best goalkeepers in the world, it's a pat on the back."

Achterberg has previously spoken openly about how he scouted Alisson and the clear advice he gave to Klopp. The Dutchman first spotted him when he was playing for Brazilian team Internacional in 2013 and immediately liked what he saw.

Then in 2016, Liverpool played Roma in a pre-season friendly which saw Alisson and Mo Salah both start for the Italian giants. Speaking to This Is Anfield, Achterberg said: "I already told the boss about him and then obviously he liked the goalie in that game. I said: 'Yeah, that's the one I was telling you about.'

"But we had also talked about other goalies. I talked in the past when (Manuel) Neuer was still at Schalke, when (Samir) Handanovic was at Udinese, when (Marc-Andre) Ter Stegen was in Germany at 'Gladbach. At the time the owners wanted to try and find the best goalie out there, and I said to the boss: 'That’s the only goalie I would pay money for.'"

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Klopp clearly heeded his recommendation and Liverpool's investment was returned in spades. Last summer, Alisson showed his dedication to Liverpool by rejecting a lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League.

The 32-year-old made his intention to see out his current contract at Anfield quite obvious, saying: "I have a three-year contract with Liverpool. I don't think the future is definitive for anyone, but in football, I hope to fulfil my contract here in England and, then, after that…I'm open to returning to Internacional."