Liverpool have completed the signing of Brazilian goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga. The 17-year-old joins from Fluminense in his native Brazil.
Liverpool Sign Marcelo Pitaluga
Another Brazilian Shot-Stopper at Anfield
Former Roma goalkeeper Alisson Becker is the current number one at Anfield. Pitaluga joins his compatriot having previously worked with the player’s brother during his time in Brazil, and will immediately begin training with the first team.
Pitaluga’s arrival may serve to placate the Liverpool fans who have grown unhappy with Adrian‘s presence as deputy to Alisson. High profile mistakes domestically and in Europe have seen the veteran Spaniard come in for heavy scrutiny when called upon by Jurgen Klopp.
Speaking of the club’s newest recruit, Liverpool’s head goalkeeping coach, John Achterberg, points to Pitaluga’s status at international level as a key indicator of his quality and potential. The player was part of the squad which won the FIFA U17 World Cup in November.
“I saw him for the first time in the World Cup squad. You’re checking all the goalies and looking at the ages,” Achterberg told the club’s official website.
“You see that he was in the World Cup squad one year younger than the rest of the squad, then you think that’s worth a look because normally you have two goalkeepers of the same age, but if you have someone who is a year younger you think he may have some good attributes.
“He was at Fluminense; we got some games to look at, all the other goalie coaches also look at it – Jack [Robinson] and the Academy coaches Mark [Morris] and Taff [Neil Edwards]. And, of course, I speak to the gaffer and the rest of the coaching department here.”
Positive Reviews From Alisson’s Brother
Alisson seems to have played a role in Pitaluga’s journey to Anfield, having asked his brother, Muriel, to cast an eye over the youngster in training.
“I asked Ali to speak to his brother to see how it goes and how he is doing. Ali spoke to his brother and Ali went training there. We saw a little bit from the training and the games he was playing for the reserves in Brazil,” continued Achterberg.
“He was already 16 playing in the reserve team there so you also think, they trust him to play already in the reserves at 16.”
“Now he is here, we have to improve [him]. He is still young, there is no pressure because there is still a long road and we don’t want to create any pressure for him because there is still work to do.
“First of all, you need to let him settle down, find his way. He needs to learn the speed, the kind of game in England is different than in Brazil, it’s a lot faster and there’s more aggression in it. All that stuff you have to calculate as well to work on a little bit.”
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