Giorgi Mamardashvili fires Liverpool warning ahead of summer transfer | OneFootball

Incoming Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili warned Alisson and the rest of his teammates that he intends to become the club's first-choice goalkeeper after he arrives at Anfield in the summer.

During a window of surprisingly few transfers, Liverpool's biggest expenditure last year was the £29m acquisition of Mamardashvili. Part of the agreement saw the 24-year-old shot-stopper immediately loaned back to Valencia for the entirety of the 2024/25 campaign before he joins up with the Reds in June.

Alisson has been Liverpool's established first-choice goalkeeper since his arrival in 2018 - a fixed hierarchy which has infuriated Caoimhin Kelleher. While the promising Irish custodian is expected to move on this summer, Mamardashvili is looking forward to his career on Merseyside.

"I am going to Liverpool to fight for the number one spot," he told Geo Team after helping Georgia earn a 3-0 victory over Armenia on Thursday evening.

"I will go there to train at my best and I don't know what they will decide afterward. I don't decide who plays and who doesn't."

Giorgi Mamardashvili has endured a mixed season for Valencia / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages

While Mamardashvili revelled in the novelty of providing his first international assist in midweek, there has not been much to smile about at club level. As the number one for a relegation-battling Valencia side, the towering Georgian is faced with a flurry of shots each match, yet he has still conceded between four and five more goals than expected based on the quality and quantity of those efforts.

Mamardashvili also boasts the second-worst save percentage of any La Liga goalkeeper, rebuffing just 61% of shots on target. For comparison, Alisson has never dipped below 72% throughout his entire career in European football.

Liverpool's Brazilian shot-stopping supremo turns 33 at the start of next season, yet has shown few signs of decline. Fresh from a record-breaking performance against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month, Arne Slot understandably hailed Alisson as "the best in the world".

Injuries, however, could offer Mamardashvili an avenue into the starting XI. Alisson sat out nine weeks this season with a recurring hamstring problem and is currently recovering from a worrying head injury sustained while on international duty with Brazil this week.