Rumor Mongering: Alisson Bid Rebuffed By Roma?

A January deal still seems all but ruled out, so are Roma preparing for a summer price markup?

The merry-go-round at Liverpool’s goalkeeper position continues to swirl and swirl in a depressingly grim fashion, refusing to entirely disappear down the drain. With Simon Mignolet not exactly distinguishing himself in yesterday’s F.A. Cup exit against West Bromwich Albion, Liverpool supporters are growing increasingly desperate for solutions that don’t currently seem to exist at the club.

Manager Jürgen Klopp recently appeared to pour cold water on any fantasies of deadline day transfers, but that hasn’t stopped a rumor train that at this point is fueled more by sheer panic than concrete links. Enter AS Roma. Amidst the current gloom, the Mirror have now indicated that, according to reports from Italy, the Serie A club have received and rejected an offer from Liverpool (of an undisclosed sum) for 25-year-old shot stopper Alisson Becker.

The valuation that Roma purportedly have in mind is something in the region of £44 million - a princely sum for a goalkeeper, to be sure, but far from surprising given the talent level of the player in question and in light of today’s market. Roma are presently fifth in the Serie A table, but within striking distance of third place, and the club have maintained that they are focused on keeping a number of key players until the summer.

Edin Džeko is one of those priorities, but Alisson is likely not far behind. The player himself has said all the expected things about being focused on the league until June, and coupled with Liverpool’s recent protestations about not bringing in further reinforcements this January, it’s a state of affairs that makes a Liverpool bid highly unrealistic.

If there are noises about a Liverpool bid being rejected at this time, it seems likelier that those are rumors leaked for the purpose of conditioning the market for a later date. Liverpool won’t be the only suitors chasing Alisson whenever Roma indicate that they are ready to deal, so it can’t hurt to capitalize on some Merseyside desperation to tinker with the price tag. Supply and demand can be cruel when the results aren’t going your way.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com