Liverpool sign teenage talent to first professional contract ahead of goalkeeping shake-up

Liverpool have signed teenage goalkeeper Kornel Misciur to his first professional contract, handing him the opportunity to prove himself worthy of a future first-team place.

Misciur turned 17 in April of this year, having joined the club's academy ranks from Hull City in 2023. He is already Liverpool's starting goalkeeper at Premier League 2 level after being promoted to the Under-21 squad this season, even captaining the side last time out against Manchester United.

The young stopper holds the same status for UEFA Youth League games.

Misciur was born in England, in Scarborough to be precise, to Polish parents in 2007, which makes him eligible to represent both national teams.

Already ahead of fellow academy goalkeepers Harvey Davies and Reece Trueman in the junior pecking order, his progress appears to be good and Liverpool's senior goalkeeping department is set for a shake up in the not-too-distant future.

Alisson is currently sidelined with a hamstring problem, his fourth muscle-related injury absence within the last 11 months alone. It has brought uncertainty to the 32-year-old Brazilian's long-term place at the club, especially with a degree of future-proofing already carried out in the form of a pre-arranged £29m transfer for Valencia and Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Caoimhin Kelleher has again been filling in for Alisson during the latest absence. But there is an acceptance now with Mamardashvili on his way in 2025 that the Republic of Ireland international will never be Liverpool's number one goalkeeper.

Kelleher recently acknowledged that as he is given more opportunity to shine in Alisson's absence, it has the potential to increase what Liverpool will expect for him in the transfer market. The Republic of Ireland international was resigned to leaving during the summer because his situation was "never going to change" and he wasn't going to "be happy sitting on the bench", but a move never materialised.

Equally, however, he also insisted there are worse things than staying "at a club like Liverpool".

The Reds additionally have Vitezslav Jaros in the first-team squad this season. The 23-year-old Czechia international was catapulted into the spotlight earlier this month when he made his senior Liverpool debut as a 79th minute replacement for the injured Alisson in a win over Crystal Palace, with Kelleher already unavailable for that game due to illness.

Jaros spent the second half of last season impressing on loan at Sturm Graz, which earned him a Euro 2024 call-up. But it was his first game in English football in two years, since a League Two loan spell at Stockport County that saw him lose his place due to a minor injury and then fail to reclaim it.

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