Liverpool are now trying to sign £25m player who Newcastle thought they could get earlier this summer

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Newcastle United have signed two goalkeepers this summer, neither of which were Eddie Howe’s top target.

Going into the summer, the plan was for Eddie Howe to sign someone to challenge Nick Pope for the role of Newcastle United number one.

However, that does not appear to have happened as of yet. That is despite reports that Odysseas Vlachodimos will challenge Pope, after joining the Magpies from Nottingham Forest.

That feels unlikely, while John Ruddy has arrived simply to add depth and drive standards up in training.

There have been rumours that Toon officials could sign one more goalkeeper, with James Trafford still linked with Newcastle.

Newcastle wanted to sign Valencia goalkeeper

However, even he was not the Magpies’ top target this summer. Instead, that honour went to Giorgi Mamardashvili.

The Georgia international was heavily linked with moving to St James’ Park earlier this summer, only for Newcastle to decide that Mamardasvhili was too expensive.

Valencia were looking to receive around £35million for the 23-year-old, and Newcastle held talks with Mamardashvili about a move to Tyneside.

However, he was not happy about not being offered a guarantee that he would be first choice, while Newcastle were not happy about the price.

That is according to the Northern Echo’s Scott Wilson, who stated in June that Newcastle were ‘led to believe’ they could do a deal for Mamardashvili. However, Valencia ended up wanting a much higher price than what was initially anticipated.

Now Liverpool are targeting Giorgi Mamardashvili

Newcastle took their business elsewhere, while Mamardashvili remained at Valencia.

However, that could change before the summer transfer window closes. That is because he is suddenly attracting interest from Newcastle’s Premier League rivals Liverpool.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool are considering an approach for Mamardashvili. He states that a deal would be worth more than £25million, with the Reds intending to loan him out if they are able to find an agreement with Valencia.

Romano has also stated that meetings are taking place between the two clubs, with Mamardashvili interested in the chance to sign for Liverpool.

Liverpool planning for the future as Newcastle watch on

In a perfect world, Newcastle would have signed Mamardashvili this summer. He would have arrived to compete with Nick Pope, before eventually becoming the permanent number one at St James’ Park.

It would have been an investment in the future, as Mamardashvili is going to be a top level goalkeeper for the next 10 years.

But Newcastle could not make it work. Missing out on Europe forced them to change their transfer approach, and that ultimately resulted in the bid to sign Mamardashvili being sacrificed. He was going to cost too much money, while he wanted to be an outright number one.

As Newcastle miss out, Liverpool could swoop in. It would be a forward thinking deal by the Reds, as they already have arguably the best goalkeeper in the world in Alisson Becker.

But signing Mamardashvili will mean they already have their Alisson replacement waiting in the wings, which is some serious planning for the future.

If PSR did not exist, Newcastle would be able to make plans like that themselves. Alas, the ‘richest club in the world’ continues to be hamstrung financially.