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Player 'snubbed Liverpool transfer' this summer and may now regret it

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Liverpool has agreed a deal to sign goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia next year but he might not have been the only goalkeeper to be snapped up by the Reds this summer.

Arne Slot currently has Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher as his first and second-choice goalkeepers this season but the latter was increasingly keen on a move away from Anfield in order to become a No. 1 elsewhere - yet failed to leave because there was no suitable back-up in tow.

However, things could have been very different had Liverpool snapped up Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, who was reportedly offered a deal to act as back-up to Alisson this season. That's according to French outlet L'Equipe, which has since published a detailed interview with the Lyon goalkeeper.

The publication claims that Liverpool made an approach for Lopes at the start of the last transfer window but the former Portugal international was not interested in leaving his post as Lyon's No.1 to become a No.2 elsewhere.

“Yes, it’s true that I had opportunities very early in the transfer window. Especially one, in a very big European team. Honestly, it wasn’t my goal at that time to be No. 2,” Lopes told L'Equipe . "But if it had happened at the end of the transfer window, maybe my choice would have been different.”

Lopes is referring to the fact that he has since lost his spot as Lyon's first-choice goalkeeper after 'rejecting' Liverpool's advances, having failed to make a single appearance for the French outfit so far this season. In fact, he hasn't even been named in the matchday squad for the last five games in all competitions.

Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes was reportedly targeted by Liverpool during the transfer window
Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes was reportedly targeted by Liverpool during the transfer window

Instead, Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Perri, who was back-up to Lopes following his January arrival last season, has been preferred by Lyon manager Pierre Sage, while summer signing Rémy Descamps has taken his place on the bench. According to L'Equipe, Lopes has now been demoted to fourth-choice goalkeeper at the club.

But if reports are to be believed and that Lopes was wanted by Liverpool this summer, then he would have played two games for the Reds by now, having seen Kelleher stand-in for the injured Alisson for the recent games against Bournemouth and West Ham.

Lopes, who made 14 appearances for Portugal between 2015-2021, has spent his entire career at Lyon and has been the club's No.1 for the past 11 seasons, making a total of 489 appearances in all competitions. Last season, he featured 33 times for the Ligue 1 outfit.