James Pearce has hinted at the possibility of one player's exit from Liverpool in 2027, depending on the fate of a current teammate.
The Athleltic reporter claimed in recent days that talks have yet to commence over a new contract for Alisson Becker , whose current deal expires next summer.
The Brazilian has been the firm first-choice goalkeeper at Anfield for eight years now, with Giorgi Mamardashvili coming in as his backup in 2025 and making 21 appearances for the Reds so far.
In the latest episode of The Athletic's Walk On podcast , Pearce indicated that the Georgia international mightn't be prepared to stay around at Liverpool for next season if Alisson were to sign a new contract, especially after the recent signing of Lucca Brughmans from Genk.
The journalist said: "If Alisson does stay, Mamardashvili isn't going to tolerate being backup for a third successive season.
"If Alisson stays, that probably means that Mamardashvili goes, and then they've invested a lot of money in this young Belgian goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans. Then you've got [Vitezslav] Jaros; he'll be back in a few months. They've got Armin Pecsi, who's out on loan in Austria at the moment.
"I get the feeling that they're quite happy with what they've got further down the line in terms of five, six, seven years' time, but the immediate future is really uncertain."
(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
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Similar to Caoimhin Kelleher before him, Mamardashvili could end up being the fall guy for Alisson's ongoing brilliance at Liverpool, with the Georgian probably being a regular starter at most other Premier League clubs.
The 25-year-old hasn't always been fully convincing for the Reds, but he proved his worth as an understudy with a couple of outstanding saves in the Carabao Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur last week.
Such a strong performance was quite timely in the wake of striking a deal for Brughmans, who's become the most expensive teenage goalkeeper of all time at £30m and will expect first-team minutes after joining for such a notable fee.
As Pearce highlighted, Liverpool's succession planning in that position is sound, but keeping Alisson should be a priority for the club's hierarchy when he continues to be such a crucial performer for Andoni Iraola 's side.
What that'd mean for Mamardashvili's future is another matter, with the 25-year-old discovering that – just as Kelleher did – the world-class Brazilian is nigh-on impossible to displace.
