Liverpool have secured the signing of 18-year-old goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans from Belgian club Genk, in a transfer that could rise to £30 million once add-ons are included.
The towering 6ft 7in shot-stopper has put his name to a six-year contract at Anfield, though he will not link up with his new club immediately. Instead, Brughmans is set to spend the current campaign back at Genk on loan, continuing his development in Belgium before officially becoming a Liverpool player in time for the 2027-28 season.
According to reporting on the structure of the deal, an initial fee has been agreed alongside a series of performance-related instalments, with the overall package representing close to the maximum value achievable for a player of his age and experience. Brughmans has already established himself as first-choice for Genk this term, starting in each of their opening four matches, and he has previous experience representing Belgium at youth international level.
The move slots into a longer-term picture regarding Liverpool's goalkeeping department. The club's current senior options include Brazilian number one Alisson, along with Giorgi Mamardashvili, Freddie Woodman and Vitezslav Jaros. However, question marks hang over that group's future shape: Alisson's contract at Anfield runs out next summer, while Mamardashvili's long-term situation at the club is also seen as unclear. Against that backdrop, Brughmans is being lined up as a genuine option in Liverpool's goalkeeping plans from the summer of 2027 onward, once his loan spell in Belgium concludes.
The signing is the latest piece of work from Liverpool's global talent identification department, headed by Matt Newberry, which has increasingly focused on recruiting promising young players from around the world before they attract wider attention. Earlier in the year, the club moved to sign two teenage centre-backs, Senegal's Mor Talla N'diaye and Austria's Ifeanyi Ndukwe, both of whom had caught the eye at the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar. Liverpool have also added goalkeeper Armin Pecsi from Hungary and midfielder Samuel Martinez from Colombia within the last year as part of the same recruitment push. Pecsi, for his part, is currently out on loan in Germany with TSV Hartberg, continuing his own development away from Anfield.
The Brughmans deal reflects a broader strategy at Liverpool of identifying and securing highly-rated young talent early, often with structured loan arrangements that allow players to continue gaining first-team experience at their current clubs before eventually integrating into the senior squad. By delaying his move to Anfield until 2027, Liverpool avoid disrupting Brughmans' progression at Genk while still tying down his long-term future amid ongoing uncertainty in their own goalkeeping ranks.
With Alisson's contract situation unresolved and Mamardashvili's position at the club not fully settled, Liverpool appear to be building in flexibility for the coming seasons. Brughmans, still only 18, will have time to continue developing at club and international youth level before he is potentially thrust into contention for a place among Liverpool's senior goalkeeping options.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.