Reports in England have revealed that Chelsea were in “advanced talks” to sign Alisson Becker before he joined Liverpool.

Alisson, 27, joined Liverpool from Roma in 2018 for £67million – a world-record move at the time.

The Athletic claim the Blues stalled on a deal, though, because they thought they could convince Thibaut Courtois to sign a new contract.

Chelsea were looking for a replacement for Courtois as the Belgian had made clear that he wanted to join Real Madrid.

The Blues held talks with Alisson and the Brazilian was keen on a move to Stamford Bridge but the Blues gave Liverpool a window of opportunity as they dropped negotiations to focus on convincing Courtois to stay.

The negotiations were said to be at an advanced stage but as Chelsea cooled their interest, it allowed Liverpool to swoop in.

Alisson has been a revelation for the Reds and helped Liverpool cure their defensive problems that undermined Jurgen Klopp’s early work at Anfield.

Chelsea ultimately failed to convince Courtois to stay and instead triggered a £73m release clause in Kepa Arrizabalaga’s contract to sign the Spaniard from Athletic Bilbao.

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