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The future of Alisson Becker at Anfield has become one of the biggest talking points of the summer window, and it is easy to see why. Reports from both England and Italy have consistently linked the Brazilian with a move to Juventus.
The 33-year-old, who has been one of the finest goalkeepers on the planet since his £67 million move from Roma in 2018, is now entering the final year of his contract after Liverpool triggered a one-year extension option back in March.
With Salah and Robertson already confirmed leavers this summer, the prospect of Alisson also heading for the exit door represents a potential seismic rebuild at Anfield.
Now Arne Slot has responded and stated that he would not be drawn into speculation:
“I am reading the same as you but I won’t talk about it here. You can ask as many times as you want in different ways, but our fans need to support Alisson if it’s his first game or his last .”
It is a carefully chosen set of words that will do little to dampen the speculation, but everything to tell you where Slot’s head is at. He is not denying the rumours. He is not issuing a defiant “Alisson is going nowhere” statement that managers typically reach for when a key player’s future is secure.
Instead, he is asking the fans to get behind their goalkeeper regardless – which, reading between the lines, suggests even the manager is bracing for the possibility that Sunday could be one of Alisson’s final appearances in a Liverpool shirt.
The Brazilian has been far more than just a goalkeeper – he has been a pillar of everything Liverpool have built since 2018. Losing him, on top of Salah and Robertson, would mark the end of a genuine golden era at Anfield, and the weight of that is not lost on anyone inside the club.