Liverpool are reportedly set to rival Real Madrid in pursuit of Sevilla goalkeeper Alfonso Pastor, who could become a free agent next summer.
According to a report by Spanish publication AS, Alfonso Pastor has emerged on the radar of Real Madrid and Liverpool, who are considering a move for the youngster in next summer’s transfer window. The 20-year-old is in the final year of his deal with Sevilla and could become a free agent at the end of the season.
Alfonso Pastor spent his formative years in the Sevilla academy and had been a regular for the club’s reserve team before breaking into the first-team setup this year. The 20-year-old made grade in the first-team earlier this week, although his debut was hardly one to remember, although he was impressive even as Sevilla shipped four goals against Chelsea.
Pastor would have hoped to make his La Liga debut this weekend against Real Madrid as well, but is now set to return to the fringes, with Bono now available after recovering from COVID-19. And, his future at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium is also up in the air, with his current deal set to run out at the end of the year. His situation has now alerted Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Liverpool have their goalkeeping future more or less secured, considering Alisson Becker is one of the best shot stoppers in the world. However, with Adrian being unconvincing lately and seemingly losing his spot as the deputy to the Brazilian, it is understandable why they might be keen on signing a goalkeeper, having also made a late attempt to sign Paulo Gazzaniga in the summer.
Add to it the fact that Caoimhin Kelleher is admittedly seeking a loan exit, Liverpool could do with a backup option for Alisson. As for La Liga champions Real Madrid, their intentions with Pastor are a bit different as compared to their Premier League counterparts.
Like Liverpool, Real Madrid have one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian’s backup is the highly-rated Andriy Lunin and hence, Pastor will mostly be part of Los Blancos’ Castilla side, where he is likely to be the first-choice goalkeeper.
At the same time, Pastor will also likely be the third-choice stopper in the Real Madrid first-team. Having said that, it remains to be seen if Pastor is willing to accept a backup role at either Liverpool or Real Madrid, seeing as that is precisely his role at Sevilla as well. If not, it will be interesting to see if any other club offers him the chance to be their first-choice goalkeeper, if he does end up leaving Sevilla as a free agent.
