Giorgi Mhamardashvili is not a keeper who has no self -confidence.
When the Georgian attended the Ballon d'Or ceremony last year, he believed that one day he will walk away with a prize. No keeper has won the Ballon d'Or since 1963, when Lev Yashin, the Soviet -Union International that remains a gold standard for keepers, claimed the prize.
Mhamardashvili, the goalkeeper who was signed by Liverpool last summer for £ 29 million before being lent to Valencia, wants to change that. The fact that a 24-year-old whose current team works in the relegation zone of La Liga, houses such ambitions, offers an insight into his rock solutions.
On the other hand, it would not be the first time that Mamardashvili defend the convention. He is a rare example of a controversial, expensive keeper who moves to a top club without the guarantee of a starting place.
Liverpool pushed through the signing because they considered it an opportunity to reject to reject Valencia's money problems a role in the accelerated price deal of £ 25 million plus £ 4 million in add-ons. Background checks were completed before the European Championship 2024 and the move accelerated after Mamaardashvili in the tournament for Georgia. The Liverpool sports director, Richard Hughes, was particularly influential to push it forward when he arrived at the club and the first-choice keeper, Alisson, was also consulted.
Plans to steer Mhamardashvili on loan, related to discussions with a number of clubs – including Premier League -Rivalen Bournemouth – but a collective decision was made to stay in Valencia for another year.
It is unusual that a star-performance stopper leaves a club against relegation for such a large transfer costs. Only eight other keepers have moved for more money and most of them have been switched between clubs on elite-level-thibaut Courtois exchanged Chelsea for Real Madrid in 2018, Kepa left Athletic Bilbao for Chelsea in 2018 and Andre Milan Milan Milan. Leage Leage Leage Leage Leage, semi-finalists in his last season, to become a member of Liverpool in 2018.
Giorgi Mhamardashvili has passed a challenging season at Valencia (Clive Brunskill/Getty images)
Valencia, however, is a faded force-sure compared to their Halcyon days of the early 2000s, when they won La Liga twice and were founded in the Champions League, which reached the final in back-to-back seasons. However, this term has been a struggle. They have run away at the relegation places for the most of the campaign and, while the arrival of the new manager, Carlos Corberan, from West Bromwich Albion, the team has given the team to survive – he has collected 12 points from his first nine competition matches that will be a guarantee since 1986.
Mhamardashvili has a deep bond with Valencia that has signed as a relatively unknown prospect of the Georgian side Dinamo Tbilisi three and a half years ago after catching scouts during a loan period at Locomotive Tbilisi in the Europa League. He has a bond with the fans of the club and is desperate to bend on a relative high.
In Valencia, Mamardashvili is not quoted as one of the reasons for sliding the club in trouble. There was the strange mistake, including one in the 7-1 that was beaten by Barcelona in January, but no more than keepers would normally endure. The fact that only soil-set Valladolid has admitted more than the 44 goals of Valencia, is more attributed to the quality of the defensive work for him instead of Mambardashvili, which helped his side in La Liga for clean sheets last season, despite ending in ninth place.
Other statistics that may seem like Liverpool fans also need context. A passing accuracy of 63 percent seems to be underwhelming, but 44 percent of his 600 passes ended up in half of the opposition, with 16 percent of the total end in the last third part.
Mhamardashvili is encouraged to kick for a long time at Valencia (Clive Brunskill/Getty images)
Mamaardashvili takes a much greater risk with the set distance compared to other keepers who use short steps to start the structure. Take, for example, Alisson's passing accuracy of 81 percent, for example: only 20 percent of his passes ended up in half of the opposition, with only seven percent get the last third part. When Cooimhin Kelleher played in the Premier League, only 29 percent of his stairs have disappeared. When Mhaldashvili arrives in Anfield, he can expect to receive similar instructions from Slot.
Helping Valencia in combating relegation is the immediate focus of Mamardashvili and its form will be vital in the run-in. However, it is no secret that he also has one eye on his next chapter on Merseyside.
Regardless of what is happening in Spain, Mamardashvili is planned to join his parent club for training for the season and then to insist on a starting place. Shortly after the move was confirmed in August, he started taking English lessons and recently looked at living in the UK. Liverpool also regularly checks and has followed every game in which he plays.
The prospects on Anfield are intriguing because they already have two ready-made No 1-keepers at the club in Alisson and Kelleher, as well as Vanceezslav Jaros, a highly appreciated goalkeeper of the third choice that presented for the first team this season.
Mamaardashvili does not see himself as anything other than a no. 1 and, although he fully respects Alisson, he did not sit on the couch for Liverpool with the intention of playing.
Images after Barcelona's victory over Valencia Last month, the striker Ferran Torres showed that Mamaardashvili asked why he did not move to Liverpool last summer. His answer was simple: “Alisson.”
But with the Brazilian still in a good form and under contract for at least two years, there seems to be no immediate need to make a change to the goal. How Liverpool deals with the decision -making process in the summer will be the key, because there is clearly not enough room for every keeper. Arne Slot has been consistent in his message that Alisson is for the time being no. 1 and Kelleher, who is out of the contract next summer, has not yet been extended his deal, which points to a potential exit.
Liverpool will know that it is probably the last window where they can do a big sale before they lose the Irishman for nothing in 2026, and after the contract problems with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk they will not want that to happen.
Although Mamaardashvili was drawn with one eye on the future, he has shown for both Club and Land that he is now ready.
In an interview with the athletics in August, David Webb, Georgia's assistant coach, spoke about his professionalism, work ethics and striking talent. “Moving to Liverpool will help him start and he will probably be one of the top three or four keepers in the world,” said Webb.
Liverpool began to follow Mamardashvili for the first time at the beginning of 2023, but although they immediately loved his Shot-stop qualities, there were reservations about his spokes.
This is the area that he has worked on most in recent years. During the loan spell at Locomotive, when he was only 19, the coach Giorgi Chiabrishvili encouraged him to “never make it long” and that helped to build confidence. Specific distribution training in Valencia followed and those who work with him have noticed a steady improvement.
Slot has not publicly discussed the plans for Mamardashvili, because his focus is to get the best out of the players at his disposal. He explained last week that the lack of activity of Liverpool in his first two transfer windows was an agreement to assess the current team and then rebuild it in the future.
Mhaldashvili played a key role for Georgia on Euro 2024 (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Mhamardashvili was a rare exception to the rule and will soon exchange a Spanish relegation struggle for another demanding environment where the expectation is to win every match -especially, as likely, Liverpool starts next season as a reigning Premier League champions.
He will not be stunned by such a pressure. After the seventh in last year's Yashin trophy – who recognizes the best keepers in the world and was most recently won by Emi Martinez of Aston Villa – he wants to surpass that list in the future to position himself for a tilt at the Ballon d'Or.
Keeping Valencia up would be a good start to fulfill that ambition. But it is what happens next in Liverpool that will form his future.
(Top photo: Aitor Alcalde/Getty images)
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