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Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly made AS Roma stopper Alisson Becker their top goalkeeping target this summer.
According to Kaustubh Pandey of Calciomercato.com, the Ligue 1 giants view the 25-year-old as their "long-term" solution in net, with neither Alphonse Areola nor Kevin Trapp convincing between the sticks.
"It is said that PSG Director Antero Henrique has already been in contact with Roma to know about Alisson’s value and worth and is keen on signing him," Pandey reported.
Pandey also noted a number of other teams are interested in signing the goalkeeper, including Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Such illustrious admirers won't come as a shock to Roma supporters, as their goalkeeper has been exceptional throughout the 2017-18 campaign.
As OptaPaolo demonstrated, the Brazil international's shot-stopping skills are incredible:
There are other aspects to Alisson's game that set him apart from some other goalkeepers, though.
The Roma man is smart with the ball at his feet and composed when his team-mates are being pressed, often providing a vital outlet to help set attacks in motion. Additionally, he also boasts the technique to hammer passes out to the flanks to trigger breaks.
His presence has given Roma such security at the base of their side, as he commands his box and is sharp off his line too. Journalist David Amoyal believes he's been the standout stopper in Serie A this season:
Real Madrid and Liverpool would also both benefit from a new man between the sticks, with their goalkeepers struggling for consistency this season.
The same goes for PSG. While Areola is the starter under manager Unai Emery, the homegrown stopper has split opinion. As Jonathan Johnson of ESPN FC noted, the 24-year-old made a costly error in the recent 2-1 loss to Olympique Lyonnais:
Although PSG have the class to dominate Ligue 1 for years to come, you sense they will need a world-class option in goal if they are to gain a stranglehold in Europe too.
With Neymar and Kylian Mbappe's arrivals last summer, the attacking portion of the side is sorted. Therefore, the end of this season will be the time for them to invest in shoring things up at the other end.
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Alisson may not be in the elite bracket, but he's on the right track. The Selecao Brasileira Twitter account suggested a strong FIFA World Cup will be key to his prospects of a move:
Roma will surely be keen to keep Alisson, although they have shown in recent years they are ready to let star men leave for the right price. Miralem Pjanic and Mohamed Salah were both snapped up by bigger clubs over the past two summers.
PSG showed last year they are ruthless in pursuit of their primary targets. Even if they face competition from Liverpool and Madrid, if Alisson is their top target, you would back them to land him.