Marcelo Pitaluga, the promising Brazilian goalkeeper, has cut short his loan spell at St. Patrick's Athletic and returned to Liverpool.
After a successful stint at Macclesfield last season, Pitaluga joined the Irish side in January, following an extension of his contract with the Reds. The plan was for him to stay until the end of the League of Ireland Premier Division season, which runs from February to November.
However, after a less than stellar start at St. Pat's, the 21-year-old found himself benched by early March, having only made six appearances across all competitions. Despite a change in management with the arrival of ex-Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny in May, Pitaluga's situation didn't improve, adding just one more appearance to his tally.
It's understood that the decision for Pitaluga to return to Liverpool was mutual, given his lack of playing time. With significant changes happening within Liverpool's goalkeeping department this summer, including the exits of John Achterberg and Jack Robinson, it's been agreed that it would be beneficial for Pitaluga to train under the new head of first team goalkeeper coaching, Fabian Otte.
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"There has been transformational change anyway here in the off-season, with a high number of signings," Kenny stated. "Three have gone back this week - Kieran (Freeman) to Scotland, we said goodbye too to Marcelo (Pitaluga), a great guy and he has a good career ahead of him I think."
"And Alfie (Taylor) has gone back to Hull. Joe Anang trains with us from Monday and I'm hopeful of having one in next week, but we'll have to see."
Kenny later lauded the Brazilian goalie, stating: "They (Liverpool) want him back, he's back training with the first team. He's a breath of fresh air, a great guy. We like Marcelo, a really talented athletic goalkeeper who just hasn't been in the team. I didn't get to see him play in the team here, bar the Leinster Senior Cup, but he has a big future ahead of him."
Even though Pitaluga's time in Ireland wasn't successful, a return to the Reds as they consider a goalkeeping shakeup under manager Arne Slot is much anticipated. Alisson Becker continues to be the unchallenged first-choice keeper at Anfield, but Adrian, who was third in line, is no longer with the Reds following the expiration of his contract in June. Despite being offered an extension, the 37 year old is reportedly set to return to his former club, Real Betis, on a free transfer.
In addition, Caoimhin Kelleher's future at Liverpool remains uncertain. The 25 year old has previously expressed his readiness to seek first team football elsewhere. If the Republic of Ireland international also departs, it would leave Vitezslav Jaros, who had a successful loan stint at Sturm Graz last season, as Liverpool's next most senior goalkeeper.
Jaros, 22, who has also been loaned out to St. Pat's in the past, was part of Czechia's Euro 2024 squad after impressing during his time with the Austrian team, helping them secure a league and cup double. However, rumours are swirling about a potential reunion with ex-Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders at Red Bull Salzburg, leaving his role as Alisson's understudy at Anfield up in the air.
Regardless of these developments, Liverpool will start their pre-season this week without both Alisson and Jaros due to their international commitments, with Alisson currently representing Brazil at Copa America.
As a result, Liverpool's senior goalkeeping options at the start of the summer are likely to be Kelleher, Pitaluga and Harvey Davies, with Jaros expected back at the AXA Training Centre in mid-July. If Brazil make it to the Copa America quarter-finals, their final group game being against Colombia on Tuesday, Alisson could miss the beginning of Liverpool's pre-season tour to the United States later this month.