Liverpool’s “monster” star out on loan could be their own Saliba

Back in July, if Liverpool fans were asked to dream up their perfect start under Arne Slot, many might not have aimed as high as the squad has reached at the November international break.

Five points clear at the summit of the Premier League with first place in the newly-formatted Champions League group phase too, life is good on the red half of Merseyside.

Saying that, Liverpool won’t win a prize for hitting lofty heights before Christmas; the trophies will present themselves later down the line, and there’s plenty of football to play in the interim.

But there’s no denying that the Anfield side have been immense. Slot inherited a top-class team, but he’s willed it into his own design. There’s so much to praise, but the new level of security in the defensive third is a thing to be admired.

Liverpool’s much-improved defence

Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles. Yada yada, tell that to the Champions League winners of ’05. Even so, there’s more than a ring of truth to the adage, and Slot seems like he recognises the value.

Jurgen Klopp, for all his brilliance, perhaps implemented a heavy-metal system that precluded true defensive authority, what with the lightning-fast breaks and urgency to plough forward and swiftly overwhelm.

Now, first-placed Liverpool are fittingly redoubtable in defence, Virgil van Dijk playing some of his best, most commanding football alongside the monstrous Ibrahima Konate.

It’s especially impressive that Alisson Becker has been out injured for much of the campaign, missing five top-flight fixtures already. Luckily, Caoimhin Kelleher is “the best no.2 in the world“, as Klopp once said.

It’s for that reason, however, that Kelleher is determined to leave Liverpool next summer in search of a first-choice spot of his own. Prudently, the club have already signed his replacement: Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Why Liverpool signed Giorgi Mamardashvili

Mamardashvili swivelled more than a few heads this summer as he performed brilliantly for Euro 2024 surprise package Georgia, awarded the tournament’s Best Goalkeeper award.

A towering shot-stopper of muscular physique, Mamardashvili, who is still only 24, was eyed by a wealth of top European outfits this year, but it was Liverpool whose negotiating proved worthwhile, completing the £29m transfer of the Valencia star toward the backend of the summer market.

Kelleher’s departure in 2025 is already determined; the Republic of Ireland international’s performances have cinched a move to a top-performing team.

Alisson won’t be going anywhere, though, and Mamardashvili, who is still on loan with Valencia and may spend the 2025/26 campaign elsewhere too, is set to serve as the superstar between the sticks for the next Anfield age.

Prudence is key. Liverpool are playing their cards calmly, perhaps inspired by rivals Arsenal’s success with William Saliba, who spent several years out on loan before finally taking the Premier League by storm.

Mamardashvili could be Slot’s own Saliba

Clearly, Mamardashvili is not cut from the same tactical cloth as Saliba. It’s not likely that we’ll see him alongside Konate as Slot’s new central defensive partnership, in any case.

But he is a ‘monster’ of a goalkeeper whose talent has been recognised and pounced upon early. Had Saliba, for example, joined Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal squad in its (and his) nascent phase, he might have struggled to assert himself, might have failed to sharpen his talents and pumped himself full of confidence.

Instead, three campaigns in his homeland proved cardinal to the development of the France international. Arsenal signed Saliba from Saint Etienne for £27m in 2019, when he was 18 years old, but he only made his Gunners debut at the start of the 2022/23 season.

Now, he’s an “exceptional” centre-half, as has been said by respected journalist Henry Winter. Unflappable and with pinpoint defensive precision, Saliba has come out on top in 75% of his ground battles this season, as per Sofascore.

Patience could indeed be key here. Mamardashvili will continue to star for Valencia this term, having kept three clean sheets, saved one penalty and made 26 saves across 11 matches in La Liga.

But, were he residing within Slot’s squad this season, it’s hard to imagine that he would have displaced the brilliant Kelleher as Alisson’s deputy, not straight away.

It would have been detrimental to his skyrocketing development.

Harking back to earlier, Liverpool have made a near-perfect start to life under their new Dutch boss, but it’s important to remember that Slot will want to be defined by a career spread across the plane of so many seasons, and not just the hoped-for triumphs of one year.

Alisson is only 30, mind, but his fitness levels have faltered in recent years, and thus, Mamardashvili could be a crucial cog in the years to come.

We might come to look back on the 2024/25 campaign as one of significance in the Georgian’s growth as a player. When he’s operating at a world-class level, we might come to thank Richard Hughes for signing him early and then allowing him to foster his skills before staking his claim between the Anfield sticks.

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