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Liverpool have finally made a signing and it has come in the shape of Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia.
The goalkeeper arrives at the club for a deal worth £29 million including add-ons, but heads back to Valencia for the season.
It will be interesting to keep an eye on his performances this season in La Liga as we look to the future of goalkeeping at Liverpool.
To get the lowdown on Mamardashvili and what he could offer Liverpool, This Is Anfield spoke to Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow), editor of Football Espana.
Firstly, what is the view in Spain around Giorgi Mamardashvili’s decision to join Liverpool?
Most people understand it.
Mamardashvili took everyone in Spain by surprise, arriving for €850,000 from Dinamo Tbilisi and was supposed to be their third choice, maybe even featuring for their B team.
The very first week, they had an injury crisis and Jose Bordalas trusted him – he made some great saves, earned them a point, and was more or less first choice from then on.
Valencia are not challenging seriously for Europe at the moment and their best young talents don’t hang around for long these days, so it’s a move most people saw coming.
He’s been one of the best in La Liga over the past three years – it feels like Mamardashvili has been around for a lot longer due to how reliable he’s been – and people think he’s ready for a big move.
The fee is close to £30 million – do you think he’s worth that?
If anything, it’s cheap.
Mamardashvili has at least 10 years at the top level left and having only started competing at the top level three years ago, there is plenty of room for improvement.
Scour through the teams of the season last year and you’ll see a lot of Mamardashvili.
For context, Thibaut Courtois might have been injured but Andriy Lunin was crucial in Real Madrid getting to the Champions League final, and Spain’s No. 1 Unai Simon was also around.
Certainly he was the best around in Spain for me last season and quite probably the reason Valencia were on the fringes of a European race, rather than nervously hanging around the bottom five or six.
+11.3 – In LaLiga last season, Giorgi Mamardashvili conceded 39 goals (excl. own goals) despite facing shots on target with a combined expected goals on target value of 50.3. This 11.3 goals prevented was the highest by any goalkeeper in the competition in 2023-24. Barricade. pic.twitter.com/JoWy4yXt2J
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 26, 2024
The differential between expected goals conceded and goals conceded was 8.2 last year, the largest figure in Spain, and the third-highest in Europe’s top five leagues. Every season he has been ranked highly for saves and save percentage.
In a team competing for titles, you would be estimating figures much closer to double the price for Mamardashvili, but Valencia’s financial struggles mean they’ve been selling below value for several years.
This is also a summer where most of Europe’s biggest sides already have goalkeepers, so there’s an abundance on the market too, as evidenced by the fact Liverpool already have a No. 1.
What type of goalkeeper is he? We’re used to a sweeper-keeper with Alisson…
He’s a cat, but a 6’6″ cat, i’s a rare breed. Mamardashvili is imposing, hulking and has no right to be as agile and quick on his toes as he is.
Throughout each season, you could put together a highlights package of forwards ever so slightly starting to turn away and celebrate before Mamardashvili flashes a limb out, down or up.
His reflexes are as good as anyone around and his positioning is generally pretty strong, allowing him to make the magic happen.
Mamardashvili has a good read on where forwards will put the ball and will edge towards the right place without over-committing.
Provided with fedora and parka, you get the Inspector Gadget comparison.
His height means that he can dominate the box from set-pieces too, something he has improved on. Although, like most goalkeepers nowadays, he prefers a punch over catching the ball.
Does he have any weaknesses he’ll need to work on?
There is still a raw aspect to him.
As described, he fits the classic mould of goalkeeper and while he’s learning and becoming increasingly daring, Mamardashvili prefers the comfort of his six-yard box to the brisk, fresh air outside his area.
Due in part down to Valencia’s approach, but also his accuracy, he ranked highly for progressive passing yards with his long distribution.
That classic feel to Mamardashvili, one of safety and at times the invincible without the ball, is traded off for a slight hint of anxiousness when he has the ball.
He’s adequate in possession and improving, but he wouldn’t naturally attempt a straight pass along the ground towards the centre circle and has no qualms about hoisting the ball high if he comes under pressure.
While he is still difficult to beat in one-on-one situations, he is perhaps half a second slower than a goalkeeping coach might like off his line.
Mamardashvili probably looks at goalkeeping as saving his team, rather than proactively preventing chances before they occur.
Finally, can you see him becoming good enough to take over from Alisson, who Liverpool view as one of the best goalkeepers in the world?
While Jan Oblak and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are not what they once were, to be up there with the top ‘keepers in Spain is no small feat.
You need to see it in the Champions League but there’s an argument to say he’s in that second tier of goalkeepers below the very top level already.
Were you starting a team tomorrow in La Liga, you’d probably take Mamardashvili over every other ‘keeper, with the exception of Courtois.
Stylistically there might be a few teething problem but Mamardashvili has the ingredients to be a top goalkeeper and is already responsible for winning his side a number of points every season.
Should he remain at the level he is at now, I doubt Liverpool fans would notice much of a drop-off as it stands, and he has plenty of time to get better.
Thanks again to Ruairidh Barlow for sharing insight on the Reds’ new goalkeeper. You can follow Ruairidh on X @RuriBarlow
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