Liverpool’s €30m Lucca Brughmans deal left Genk stunned

Liverpool’s late move for Lucca Brughmans did not only catch supporters by surprise, with figures inside Genk admitting they were also shocked by how quickly the €30million transfer developed.

The young goalkeeper joined Liverpool towards the end of the summer transfer window before immediately returning to Genk for the remainder of the season.

Brughmans is expected to move to Anfield next summer, where he could eventually become Liverpool’s long-term number one. Alisson is currently approaching the end of his contract, making the Belgian youngster’s development particularly significant.

Genk director of football Dimitri de Conde already knew Brughmans was attracting major European interest.

The goalkeeper had even visited Real Madrid, while Genk viewed him as a player capable of generating an important transfer fee in the future.

What surprised De Conde was the speed and value of Liverpool’s approach.

“I never saw that coming,” he admitted when discussing how quickly the €30m deal materialised.

De Conde also played down suggestions that extensive negotiations were required to extract such a significant fee from Liverpool.

He revealed that Brughmans’ agency contacted him on a Sunday, just two days before the English transfer deadline, to explain Liverpool were serious and present their offer.

By the following morning, Brughmans was already travelling to Liverpool.

The reaction extended into Genk’s dressing room.

Defender Josué Kongolo told Gazet van Antwerpen that he was “genuinely shocked” when he discovered Brughmans was joining Liverpool.

Kongolo discussed the transfer while speaking about his own ambitions and the progress of young players such as Kos Karetsas, who has made an encouraging start at Dortmund.

“I’m happy for Lucca Brughmans too,” Kongolo said. “That transfer to Liverpool is amazing.”

The deal was somewhat overshadowed by Liverpool’s €125m move for Bradley Barcola, but Brughmans could ultimately become one of their most important long-term investments if he successfully develops into Alisson’s eventual successor.

Brughmans can now focus on gaining regular experience at Genk without immediately facing the pressure of replacing Alisson at Anfield.

Liverpool will be able to monitor his development throughout the campaign before integrating him into their squad next summer, when the goalkeeping situation could look considerably different.