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The reinforcements that Jurgen Klopp has made to the Liverpool squad have largely been impeccable. That's not just in terms of the first team which has seen the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker join the red half of Merseyside, but also in terms of the backup signings like Ragnar Klavan and Xherdan Shaqiri.
But when Klopp decided to sign Adrian as a backup to Alisson with Simon Mignolet departing to Club Brugge, the move didn't quite sit well with some. The fact that a title-hungry team would want an out-of-favor goalkeeper even as a backup seemed strange.
However, Adrian has proved his doubters wrong.
A few months ago Adrian was a free agent, just released by West Ham. He probably didn't believe his luck when he was called into action for Liverpool in the very first game of the season against Norwich City, after Alisson hobbled off injured.
He has since played 11 games for Liverpool.
Before going on further, one needs to keep in mind the fact that this is a goalkeeper who was deemed surplus by a mid-table Premier League club and was released.
Since his transfer to Liverpool, Adrian has won a UEFA Super Cup, played in the Premier League and Champions League, and kept a couple of clean sheets for the club. In the Super Cup final against Chelsea, Adrian made wonderful saves off Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount and saved Tammy Abraham's decisive penalty to win the cup for his team.
In the matches that followed, the Spanish stopper produced admirable performances barring a few nervy moments against Southampton and Burnley. He also produced a contender for save of the season against Napoli in the Champions League, saving a shot from Dries Mertens from point-blank range - an effort that was eventually overshadowed by Liverpool's loss to the Italians.
In the same match, he also made a quick double save to deny compatriot Fabian Ruiz.
Klopp has shown that he prefers playing out from the back, something that Alisson has shown proficiency in. However, Adrian hasn't been far behind with regularly trying to start an attack from the back and regularly making accurate long passes to start quick counter-attacks.
The Spaniard makes an average of 25.8 passes and 5.7 longs balls per game with a pass accuracy of 74.4%. In the Premier League, he has made 12 saves and 5 sweeper clearances in 8 appearances.
Adrian has performed so well that even when Alisson was fit to start, there were some pundits still discussing whether the former should keep his place ahead of the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year. Although this was never going to happen, the fact that it was even brought up as a question shows how well Adrian has deputized for the Brazilian.
Although Adrian may not be considered one of the best in the league, he has garnered a reputation well beyond anyone's imagination. He has cost Liverpool absolutely nothing in terms of transfer fee and has already gained more support from the fans than Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet, who cost a combined £14.5 million.
Adrian has been unspectacular but solid, and should be the front-runner for being called as the best backup goalkeeper in the Premier League.
