If you had proposed last week that Liverpool’s second biggest deal before the 2026 summer transfer window slammed shut would be for an 18-year-old Belgian goalkeeper who would then remain at his current club for the 2026-27 season, it would have raised a few eyebrows.
Still, while the Reds’ various squad deficiencies in the present remain concerning, there was a real need for the club to figure out a fresh succession plan in goal given the struggles Giorgi Mamardashvili has had since arriving from
Valencia. And today, Liverpool appear to have done just that.
They have done that by completing the £30M signing of Genk rising star 18-year-old Lucca Brughmans, with the goalkeeper flying in to Liverpool to undergo his medical and complete the transfer before returning to Belgium for the upcoming season before joining up next summer.
Brughmans made the breakthrough at Genk in the second half of last season and made nine appearances by the end of it, but he has already made four starts in the Belgian league to start the current campaign and is expected to be Genk’s undisputed number one moving forward.
Given Genk were famously the club that developed Thibaut Courtois and that the 18-year-old Brughmans stands an imposing 6’7” (2m) and is considered both dominant in the area—at least for his age and stage in development—and good with his feet, Courtois comparisons will be inevitable.
Genk also recently produced 21-year-old Mike Penders, who also stands 6’7” (2m) and whom Chelsea paid £17M to sign as their goalkeeper of the future last summer. The consensus has Brughmans ahead of where Penders was at the same age, but then development is rarely linear.
Regardless, Liverpool have signed one of Europe’s top young stoppers. It has also been reported that more than half of the top line £30M fee may be made up of add-ons that, while not especially difficult to trigger if he does become their starter would likely not be paid out if he doesn’t.
There’s plenty to complain about regarding Liverpool’s transfer activity this summer with their failures to address an unbalanced attack and unbalanced midfield and question marks at fullback. A plan for the future in goal was needed, though. Hopefully this gives them that.
