Liverpool have once again been linked with Roma’s Alisson Becker, but they could save a lot of time, effort and money by making a quick swoop for Brighton’s Mathew Ryan.

What's the story?

According to reliable Rome-based reporter Alessandro Austini, Brazil goalkeeper Alisson is much more likely to leave Roma this summer than to stay.

Tuttomercatoweb have even gone one step further, claiming the Reds have prepared an offer of €70m (around £62m) for the 25 year-old.

While Alisson is no doubt a world class goalkeeper, Roma are desperate to cling on for as long as they can and milk every possible penny out of the deal, which is why the Reds should change course and swoop for Ryan.

Why Ryan?

There’s no way around it, Ryan is not the world class superstar goalkeeper Liverpool are so desperate for. However, he is a considerable upgrade on Karius, had a good World Cup, would cost an awful lot less than Alisson or Jan Oblak, and has Premier League experience.

Telegraph reporter Chris Bascombe claims Jürgen Klopp does want to sign a new goalkeeper this summer, perhaps no surprise after Loris Karius made yet more blunders in the Reds’ pre-season openers, but Alisson and Oblak may simply be out of reach.

Ryan could be the perfect risk-free signing, as at worst he is a more solid, reliable short-term option than Karius until a bigger upgrade becomes available, and at best he could seize the opportunity and become one of the league’s best stoppers.

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How good is he?

Ryan’s breakthrough at Brighton came as no surprise to those who watched his loan spell at Genk, as the Australian international made countless saves in his side’s shock run to the Europa League quarter-finals and conceded just three goals in his nine league matches with the Belgian club.

Valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, the 26 year-old is a better shot stopper than Karius, a more vocal leader, and far more commanding when crosses are lumped into the box.

While they kept the same number of league clean sheets with Ryan playing double the number of games last season, the individual stats tell a different story. The Brighton stopper made more saves per game, more saves per goal conceded, and averages nearly 50 per cent more catches than the German per game.

This disparity in being confident and calm while claiming crosses is the biggest difference between the pair, as Karius averaged 0.6 punches per game compared to Ryan’s 0.3. The German’s tendency to flap at crosses when he can easily catch them causes chaos in the Liverpool box, and Ryan would immediately solve this problem, making the entire team safer and calmer.

The one area Karius perhaps has the upper hand is his distribution, boasting a far better pass completion rate than Ryan. However, this is heavily influenced by the teams they play for, as Karius is instructed to play short passes through the defence whenever possible.

So, Liverpool fans, do you think Ryan would be a worthwhile singing if you can’t get Oblak or Alisson? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…