Liverpool agree £30m deal for Genk teenager Brughmans with Mamardashvili exit the key condition

Liverpool have agreed a £30m deal to sign Genk goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans, though the move hinges on whether Giorgi Mamardashvili departs before Tuesday’s 11pm transfer deadline. The 18-year-old, who has made just 14 league appearances for the Belgian club, is set to remain at Genk for the 2026/27 season unless Liverpool lose their current back-up keeper.

Mamardashvili joined Liverpool from Valencia for £29m last summer and made 20 appearances in 2024/25 while Alisson was sidelined through injury. Nottingham Forest manager Oliver Glasner is now targeting the Georgian as a goalkeeping option, with Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson also under consideration. Liverpool would prefer to retain Mamardashvili, but are prepared to move quickly on Brughmans should he leave.

Brughmans had attracted interest from across Europe, including Real Madrid, where fellow Belgian Thibaut Courtois reportedly lent the club some influence in negotiations. Liverpool’s global talent team ultimately convinced the teenager that Merseyside was the right destination, a decision that may have been shaped by Alisson entering the final year of his contract — opening a potential pathway to first-team football as early as the summer of 2027.

The signing would continue a busy window for Liverpool, who have already added Victor Munoz, Jeremy Jacquet, Ronald Araujo, and young defenders Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe. Bradley Barcola is also reported to be joining. Third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman remains on the books regardless of how the Mamardashvili situation resolves.

Manager Andoni Iraola acknowledged his frustration at the window’s overlap with the start of the Premier League season after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest. “We’ve been patient all summer and now we just have to wait,” he told BBC Match of the Day. “We just have to wait a couple more days and see how we finish and how the squad looks in the second half of September. Honestly, I am looking forward to having who we have and a definitive squad so we can start working with certainties.”