Sevilla goalkeeper Alfonso Pastor won’t be joining Premier League giants Liverpool this summer having signed a new, long-term contract with the “club of my heart” instead, as reported by Cordoba Deporte.
The Reds didn’t just want Pastor – they had gone as far as to draw up a plan for how the 20-year-old’s debut season at Anfield would pan out.
According to AS, Liverpool hoped to sign the highly rated goalkeeper on a free transfer with his contract expiring in July.
Pastor would then be asked to spend one season honing his talents in Barry Lewtas’s U23s before being promoted to Jurgen Klopp’s senior squad to challenge Alisson Becker for a first-team spot.
Tempting, we’re sure.
Liverpool look to have lost out on Pastor
But, after rising through the ranks at his boyhood club, the Andalusian-born Pastor was never going to walk away from Sevilla just as he was about to break into the senior squad.
“Very happy to continue with the club of my heart, the one that has trained and trusted me since I was a child,” Pastor said on Twitter, the ink still drying on a deal that will keep him at last year’s Europa League winners until 2026.
“Thankful to everyone who has helped me get here, especially the club, my parents and my agent. Blood of your blood!”
While Pastor slams the door shut, a window of opportunity appears to have swung open for another Spanish shot-stopper.
The veteran Adrian fell out of favour following a series of error-strewn displays in the autumn but has now been offered a new contract as Caoimhin Kelleher is expected to go out on loan.
In other news, Liverpool appear to have missed out on another exciting youngster, with a winger labelled the ‘new Gareth Bale’ apparently turning down a move to Anfield…
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