Real Madrid will look to sign 18-year-old Belgian goalkeeping prodigy Lucca Brughmans from Liverpool to be the long-term successor to Thibaut Courtois.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Real Madrid will aim to identify a “long-term heir” to Thibaut Courtois in the coming years as the veteran goalkeeper enters the twilight of his career. To do so, they have set their sights on Liverpool, with a teenage prospect emerging as a target.
Who is Lucca Brughmans?
Lucca Brughmans is the latest goalkeeping prodigy to rise in prominence in his homeland. Since Simon Mignolet rose in prominence nearly two decade ago and was closely followed by Thibaut Courtois as a world-class shot-stopper, Belgian football has witnessed the advent of prospects like Senne Lammens and Mike Penders, among others.
Brughmans has followed Lammens and Penders to burst into the spotlight, having been top-notch in age-group football in his homeland and the Netherlands before breaking into the first-team squad at KRC Genk. The 18-year-old has already made 16 appearances for Genk thus far while keeping seven clean sheets and conceding 15 goals.
The teenage prospect is now a first-choice starter for Genk, accumulating 450 minutes of game time in five outings while keeping two clean sheets and conceding eight goals. Meanwhile, Brughmans’ progress prompted Liverpool to sign him this past summer.
What next?
Liverpool completed the deal for Lucca Brughmans on deadline day of the summer transfer window before sending him back to Genk. The Reds view him as the long-term successor to Alisson Becker, who, at 33, is approaching the twilight of his career. So, with Giorgi Mamardashvili yet to establish a foothold in the first-team squad at Anfield, Brughmans has arrived as an alternative.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid’s interest in Brughmans makes strategic sense, as Thibaut Courtois, like Alisson, is approaching the final phase of his career. With Andriy Lunin failing to establish himself over the past half-dozen years, Real Madrid will pursue an option from the market to be Courtois’s successor.
However, securing a deal for Brughmans will be a tall order for Real Madrid, considering the 18-year-old has yet to even arrive at Anfield. An agreement between Real Madrid and Liverpool remains unlikely, though several alternative targets, including Mike Penders and Giorgi Mamardashvili, are also on Los Blancos’ wishlist.