Liverpool are advancing in a deal to sign goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans from Belgian side Genk.
The expectation is that the deal will happen, with an agreement nearing for Liverpool to pay a fixed fee of around €33million (£28.3m; $38.3m) and €2m more due in potential add-ons. It is likely the 18-year-old will return to Genk on loan for the 2026-27 season but that depends on whether Giorgi Mamardashvili, Liverpool’s current No 2 goalkeeper, departs before Tuesday’s deadline.
In July, just after turning 18, Brughmans extended his contract with Genk until 2030. His previous terms ran through to 2028, with the Belgian club saying that was the longest possible deal for an under-18 player.
The teenager made his professional debut for Jong Genk — the club’s reserve side — aged 16, and last season, stepped up to the first team and started all 10 of their Pro League play-off fixtures.
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Brughmans has started all four of Genk’s matches this season, most recently keeping a clean sheet in a 4-0 victory against SK Beveren on Friday. He has made 15 first-team appearances to date.
The teenager has also become a key figure for Belgium’s youth teams. He captained his country at the Under-17 European Championship and Under-17 World Cup last year, and has subsequently led the Under-18 and Under-19 teams.
He is a graduate of the Genk academy which also developed Real Madrid and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois — and wears the same No 28 shirt that Courtois wore while playing for Genk.
Brughmans is the second Genk academy goalkeeper to join the Premier League in recent years, following Mike Penders’ move to Chelsea in the summer of 2024. That summer also saw Maarten Vandevoordt move from the Belgian club to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, having come through the youth ranks.
Alisson, who has been Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper since 2018, is entering the final year of his contract at Anfield, having had a 12-month option triggered last season.
Mamardashvili, Freddie Woodman and Vitezslav Jaros are also in Liverpool’s goalkeeping ranks, alongside Armin Pecsi, who is spending the 2026-27 season on loan at TSV Hartberg.