Over the past season, Alisson Becker has quickly established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. His reputation now goes before him as his world-class performances have attracted the attention of the best clubs in Europe. Real Madrid and Liverpool have both shown an interest in Becker but recently, Chelsea have emerged as firm favourites for his next destination.
Here are 4 reasons why Alisson Becker should be Chelsea’s new number one.
#4 Thibaut Courtois wants to leave
For the past couple of seasons, Thibaut Courtois has made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t see his long-term future at Stamford Bridge. This summer especially, the Belgian has stepped up the pressure on the club by refusing to sign a new contract.
His current deal runs out in 2019 and the 25-year-old is willing to leave on a free transfer next summer if the club doesn’t accept offers for him this window. Alisson Becker is a more than capable replacement for Thibaut Courtois, in fact, he’s an upgrade.
#3 Top 2 Keeper in the world
There’s a reason why so many top clubs are after the Brazilian’s signature. He is without a doubt in the conversation for the best keeper in the world. He and David De Gea are miles ahead of the rest, for their consistency and ability to deliver in the high-profile situations.
It was through his brilliance at the back that gave Roma the platform to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Just to show his dominance, Becker kept an astonishing 15 clean sheets in 34 Serie A games, whilst averaging 2.71 saves per game. Such numbers at the top level can only be rivalled by the very best.
#2 Better Positioning
Sky Italy pundit Augusto De Bartolo, who has a great wealth of knowledge about footballers in Serie A, went into great detail about Alisson’s greatest strengths. He specifically highlighted ‘positioning’ as one of them. “His major strength is the ability to be in the right position in order to cover a large portion of the goal.”
Due to his positioning, Alisson is able to make saves other keepers can’t, including Thibaut Courtois. “If you look at his movements in a game, especially when forwards are bearing down on goal, he always adjusts his position according to the movement of the ball.” Alisson is revolutionising the game of keeping in a similar way to Manuel Neuer initially did at Bayern Munich.
#1 Improves Chelsea’s build-up play
Alisson Becker isn’t just a fantastic shot stopper or great anticipator of striking movements, he’s also exceptional with the ball at his feet. In the same way, Manuel Neuer doesn’t shy away from having the ball, Becker relishes aiding his team progress up the pitch.
With AS Roma last season, despite attempting 7.4 long balls a game, the 25-year-old maintained a 78.9% passing accuracy in 37 league games. Under Antonio Conte, the Blues have not been known for their passing football, the signing of Alisson Becker would give the Chelsea defenders the confidence to play out from the back.
