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Liverpool have ironed out all the details and struck an agreement to sign goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia, though he will not join the club this summer.
The Reds are in the process of future planning and that landed them at the doorstep of 23-year-old Mamardashvili, who has been Valencia’s first-choice goalkeeper since early 2022.
He has been at the centre of transfer talk for a number of weeks as the club wrestled with the finer details of a deal that will not see him join Arne Slot‘s squad this season.
Mamardashvili instead is to sign a deal worth €35 million (£29.6m), inclusive of add-ons, as per journalist David Lynch, and while he will go down as the first signing of the summer, he will remain in Spain for 2024/25.
The 6’6″ goalkeeper will stay with Valencia – where he has already made 102 appearances – before a decision is made next summer if he will remain there, head to Anfield or join another club on loan.
The 23-year-old is to undergo his medical this Monday (August 26).
Alisson‘s future will have a significant say in his next steps, but the Brazilian firmly remains the club’s No. 1 and has already spoken out about his commitment to the club.
While many would have wished, and will continue to wish, that this is not the only transfer deal Liverpool make this summer, it is a noteworthy one for the club’s succession planning.
With the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah out of contract and closer to the end of their careers than the start, Liverpool can’t risk needing to replace their spine in one transfer window.
Mamardashvili is an exciting young goalkeeper who has 21 senior caps for Georgia and is renowned for his reflexes and quickness off his line.
Who is Giorgi Mamardashvili?
He has been Valencia’s first-choice goalkeeper for the past two-and-a-half seasons, having joined from Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi in 2021 following loan spells with FC Rustavi and Locomotive Tbilisi.
Mamardashvili was one of the key figures in Georgia’s run to the last 16 of this summer’s Euros as the tournament’s surprise package.
Per FotMob, he ended the tournament with the most saves per 90 minutes (7.5) and goals prevented (4.7).
As for his style of play, defender Victor Mongil, who trained with Mamardashvili at Dinamo Tbilisi, told Breaking The Lines last year: “Mama defends well, he is an agile and fast goalkeeper.”
“He’s a goalkeeper who handles well low shots, reaches balls that can be challenging for taller goalkeepers, like Courtois or Donnarumma, who struggle there.”
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