Liverpool No.1 Alisson Becker is 'the best goalkeeper in the world' - so what does that mean for struggling Giorgi Mamardashvili and fed-up Caoimhin Kelleher?

Liverpool's recruitment team are rightly copping an awful lot of flak for allowing key trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold to enter the final year of their respective contracts. However, they were praised for moving so quickly to agree a deal with Valencia for Mamardashvili that will see him move to Merseyside at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

A new goalkeeper didn't feel like it should have been a priority for the Reds at the time - particularly as they arguably have the world's best No.2 in Caoimhin Kelleher - but it was hard to argue with the level of prudence at play.

If the decision had already been made that Kelleher wasn't quite good enough to be Alisson's heir, then the club was right to line up an alternative sooner rather than later, and Mamardashvili was unquestionably a strong candidate to become Liverpool's next No.1.

At just 24, Mamardashvili had already made a name for himself at Mestalla and was also coming off the back of a string of sensational showings for Georgia at Euro 2024. For an initial £25 million ($32m), he undoubtedly had the makings of a bargain buy - and that's still the case, in fairness.

Furthermore, while there were few doubts over Alisson's form, his fitness was an increasing cause for concern, with his injury-enforced absences becoming frustratingly frequent. By contrast, Mamardashvili had already racked up an impressive amount of appearances for Valencia. His best years were clearly ahead of him, while Alisson was showing signs of wear and tear.

Consequently, much was made of the fact that whereas Mamardashvili finished seventh in the voting for last year's Yashin Trophy, Alisson didn't even make the shortlist. Out with the old, in with the new and all that...

As it stands, though, Mamardashvili doesn't look like an upgrade on Kelleher - let alone Alisson.

It obviously needs to be acknowledged that Mamardashvili is not playing for a strong side. In La Liga, Valencia are just two places and one point above the relegation zone. Only basement boys Real Valladolid (62) have conceded more goals than Los Che (45) so far this season, which goes a little way towards explaining why Mamardashvili (five) has fewer cleans sheets to his name than Kelleher (eight) in 2024-25 despite playing six more games than the Ireland international.

However, there is no disguising the fact that the quality of Mamardashvili's performances have dipped dramatically since his move to Liverpool was announced just before the close of the last summer transfer window.

Goalkeepers lining out for relegation-threatened teams are nearly always much busier than those representing title challengers, meaning they usually have the higher save stats. That's not the case with Mamardashvili, though.

He's actually averaging fewer saves per game (2.4) than Alisson (2.6), while his save percentage is an incredibly worrying 57.61 percent - that's the third-worst ratio in Europe's 'Big Five' leagues among goalkeepers to have made 20 or more appearances so far this season. To put it further into context, Alisson's tally is 75.58%.

Mamardashvili has also made three errors leading directly to goals, the most recent of which came on Saturday, with the Tbilisi native gifting Valladolid a 40th-minute equaliser by passing the ball directly to Juanmi Latasa. Valencia still went on to win the game thanks to Umar Sadiq's second-half goal, but Mamardashvili nonetheless felt compelled to issue a public apology afterwards.

"I know I'm not in my best moment now, but I'm convinced that challenges make us stronger," he wrote on social media. "I'm putting in my best effort to be the best version of me as soon as possible."

Mamardashvili is certainly going to have to get back to his best if he's to have any chance of ousting Alisson next season - provided the Brazilian stays at Liverpool, of course.

Alisson admitted last summer that he was "a little bit attracted" to the massive amounts of money on offer in the Saudi Pro League, and there's clearly a chance that he could view the end of the current campaign as the perfect time to bid a fond farewell to Anfield if Liverpool, as expected, go on to win the Premier League.

Alisson also pointed out that his employers' stance would be key. "I'm open [to Saudi Arabia], but not at present," he explained at the time. "I have a contract with Liverpool and I want to finish it, or make a new one. But if it's in the interest of the club to negotiate me with another club, then it will be a different conversation."

And one cannot help but wonder if Liverpool snapped up Mamardashvili with a view to potentially accepting a lucrative bid from the Middle East for Alisson before his value depreciates...

It's interesting, though, that there are presently more rumours about Mamardashvili being sent out on loan again than Alisson leaving Liverpool. The imminent arrival certainly won't want to serve as an understudy, as he firmly believes he's good enough to start for any top team.

The problem at Liverpool, though, is that if Alisson decides he wants to continue at the highest level, there's really no reason to think Arne Slot will suddenly relegate him to the role of a No.2. Indeed, the Reds boss effectively warned Mamardashvili last Friday that he's going to have to fight for his starting spot when he eventually joins. Slot told reporters on the eve of the Southampton game, "If you don't want to face competition, then Liverpool is not the best place to go."

Kelleher has discovered that to his cost. He's shown as much patience as he has quality while playing second fiddle to Alisson, but he was understandably upset by the club's move for Mamardashvili as he believed he should have been next in line. It would, therefore, be hugely surprising if Liverpool's regular Carabao Cup hero does not depart at the end of the season. At 26, he wants to be playing regular first-team football in the Premier League - and he should get it, too, given the interest in his services.

Nobody is entirely sure what's going to happen with Alisson and Mamardashvili, though. Just like Elliott, Slot firmly believes that Alisson is "the best goalkeeper in the world", so what chance does Mamardashvili really have of replacing him right now?

All we know for sure is that the Dutchman is spot on when he says that Liverpool are in "a good place, goalkeeper-wise". They've got a very good one on the bench, another on the way, and an all-time great who retains a wonderful ability to leave team-mates lost for words.