Liverpool completed a £30m deal to sign Lucca Brughmans from KRC Genk at the end of the summer transfer window
Liverpool FC unveil new signing Lucca Brughmans at AXA Training Centre on September 02, 2026
Lucca Brughmans has signed for Liverpool(Image: 2026 Liverpool FC)
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Liverpool caught many off-guard when signing Lucca Brughmans at the start of the month. The Reds moved quickly to snap up the 18-year-old in a £30m deal from KRC Genk before sending him back on loan to the Belgian outfit for the rest of the 2026/27 season.
The highly-rated goalkeeper hopes to become Alisson Becker’s long-term successor, having seen Liverpool make him the most expensive teenager goalkeeper in the world.
Genk always hoped to pocket a sizable fee for the Belgian. But by their own admission, they were not expecting a deal for Brughmans to be agreed so early in his career - and for him to be the subject of such a hefty transfer fee.
The teenager has only made 17 senior appearances for the club to date, having only established himself as Genk’s number one goalkeeper at the back-end of last season.
And while he’d previously visited Real Madrid as suitors made their interest known, Genk’s sporting director, Dimitri de Conde, has admitted he was caught off-guard by Liverpool’s move for the shot-stopper.
“My first reaction was: ‘Oh boy, what now?’,” he told Het Laatste Nieuws, as quoted by Sport Witnesswhen asked for his reaction to Liverpool’s offer. “I knew he was on the radar of top clubs.
“That he’d even visited Real Madrid. And that he was one of the lads we hoped to get a handsome fee for at some point, to ensure the club’s survival.
“But for it to happen *that* quickly. And for *that* amount. I never saw that coming.
“People saying ‘It’s fantastic what De Conde achieved with his experience regarding Lucca’s transfer!’? Sorry, but that’s not the case.
“In the end, I got a call from his agency at 11am on a Sunday, two days before the English transfer window closed: 'Liverpool is serious. This is the offer'. And the very next morning, Lucca was on a plane to Liverpool.
“I do take credit for the fact that we, as a club, chose that path. I don’t pick the starting lineup – let’s be clear about that – but at a certain point, we gave Lucca his chance. It might have only been in the Play-Off 2 stage, but we did it nonetheless.”
De Conde was not the only one surprised by Brughmans’ transfer, however, with Genk team-mate Josue Kongolo admitting he was left in shock when he first heard the news when sharing his own transfer plans for the future.
“Do I want to go to the Premier League? I think that for my next step – someday, that is – I might consider a move to Germany,” he told Gazet Van Antwerpen, as quoted by Sport Witness.
“That seems like a great stepping stone to even bigger leagues. But I’m still young. Let me prove myself here a bit more first. I really enjoyed watching Kos Karetsas’ early moments at Dortmund. We all sent him a message. Especially when he was named Man of the Match.
“It’s brilliant for him and a great example for us. It proves that your dreams can come true if you work hard for them. Kos also said he feels really good there.
“I’m happy for Lucca Brughmans too, by the way; that transfer to Liverpool is amazing. I was genuinely shocked when I heard about it.”