I was very surprised by Liverpool transfer

I was very surprised by Liverpool transfer - and Arne Slot should avoid stupid decision

Sander Westerveld talks to the ECHO and other media outlets about the goalkeeping situation at Liverpool ahead of Giorgi Mamardashvili's arrival

Sander Westerveld of Liverpool during the LFC Foundation charity match at Anfield on March 22, 2025 (Image: LFC Foundation/Liverpool FC via Getty Images )

Arne Slot might be fully focussed on the Premier League title run-in as Liverpool hope to be crowned champions of England for a 20th time, but he already faces at least one dilemma heading into the summer. While the Reds’ goalkeeping department might be one of the strongest in world football, it is also accompanied by a cloud of uncertainty.

In Alisson Becker, Liverpool boast arguably the best goalkeeper in the world while in Caomhin Kelleher, they possess a quality deputy who would arguably be first-choice at the majority of their Premier League rivals.

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And beyond the pair, Vitezslav Jaros is a full international and deserving of more than just his current third-choice status.

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Yet despite the strength of such a department, Liverpool have already signed one new goalkeeper for next season after agreeing a £29m deal with Valencia for Giorgi Mamardashvili back in August. Unsurprisingly, that deal has prompted uncertainty regarding the futures of all three of the Reds’ current shot-stoppers.

Mamardashvili has come under-fire for his performances for struggling Valencia since his move to Liverpool was announced, but recently insisted he is moving to Anfield to fight for number one status . However, Slot has already warned the Georgian that he won’t be an automatic first-choice.

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And now former Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld has admitted his surprise at the Reds’ decision to sign Mamardashvili, well-aware that three into one does not go.

The Dutchman was an English record signing for a goalkeeper when he joined Liverpool in a £4m deal back in 1999, but despite being a crucial part of the Reds’ treble-winning side, lost his place months later after the deadline day double signing of Jerzy Dudek and Chris Kirkland in 2001.

With it made clear to him by Gerard Houllier his future lay away from Anfield, Westerveld joined Real Sociedad. Consequently, the shot-stopper still keeps a keen eye on La Liga and has been concerned by Mamardashvili’s form this season.

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“I was very surprised when Liverpool bought Mamardashvili,” he admitted to the ECHO and other outlets. “I know this guy. I follow the Spanish league and I know how good he is.

“I said it on television in Holland after the Euros. I think he was the best goalkeeper at the Euros, so I know how good he is.

“I'm not worried but it's a little bit strange that since the moment he signed for Liverpool, his level dropped in Spain, and there's been criticism of him or maybe he will be dropped.”

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Westerveld does not think Mamardashvili will displace Alisson as Liverpool’s number one, and would actually prefer the Reds to retain Kelleher’s services despite their looming arrival.

“It's obviously for the number two spot,” he said. "Alisson will be the number one. Kelleher played the last two years. I'm not sure if he has some kind of agreement with the club and that's why he stayed.

“Most of the time he plays more than 20 games in the season anyway with the League Cup and everything.

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“But I think his time has come that he wants to play regular football as a number one somewhere. I think, looking at the Premier League and even the Championship, he can be the goalkeeper in almost all the teams that are there at the moment.

“He's a quality goalkeeper and he needs to play, but me as a fan, I would really like him to stay another year. But then we have three of the best goalkeepers in Europe, I think.”

“Yeah, yeah, but one was in the stands!” Westerveld replies when the similarity to his own plight at Anfield is then pointed out.

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For now, Liverpool have a ‘luxury problem’ in goal, and the Dutchman wants that to remain the case. Though Westerveld has warned Slot against regularly rotating his shot-stoppers next season following Mamardashvili’s arrival.

“I don't think so, no, (you can’t rotate the same way as you can with outfield players). Arteta said that in the beginning of the season,” he pondered. “And my fellow Dutchman, Bart Verbruggen, he got that situation last season (at Brighton).

“I think you can only do that when you are Liverpool and you play 60 games in a season - not in any other team that plays like 38 or 40 games.

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“I think you can only do that if it's like one each. If you have two games in a row and you have to sit on the bench, you lose momentum as a goalkeeper, and that's difficult.

“Maybe it's a good example today (at the Liverpool Legends match). I was supposed to go in and do the warming up because I was supposed to play the last 15 of the first half and then the second 15, so we all played for 30 minutes.

“I was looking at the clock and I was like 'okay, now I'm gonna warm up' and then Dudek got injured. So I was totally cold when I got in. That's really difficult for a goalkeeper and that's not only in a game but also in situations.

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“That's why I think our goalkeepers are so good because with the League Cup and the injuries of Alisson, I think Kelleher played a lot of games and so then it's easy to mix.

“(Robin) van Persie in Holland did a stupid thing, I think. We had a goalkeeper from Heerenveen called (Andries) Noppert and this guy he says he's good with dominating his box with long balls.

“They were winning in a cup game against amateurs, and he put that goalkeeper in 50 minutes before time because they said 'they're gonna play long balls'.

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“So the goalkeeper comes in, he makes two mistakes and they lose the game against the amateurs. That was just stupid because the guy is sitting on a bench and he has to come in.

“So I think you should have a number one and a really good backup. You can have a very experienced one who knows he's the number two, so he can come in and then he doesn't need to play five games to really play. With his experience, he can come in.

“Or you have a youngster like Kelleher, who comes in and shows himself and the quality. At the moment we're having a luxury problem, I think at Liverpool and hopefully we have that next season as well.”

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