'Best of luck' - Liverpool confirm first permanent deal of January transfer window as club statement released

Liverpool have confirmed the exit of Marcelo Pitaluga.

The goalkeeper, 22, has left the Reds to return to Fluminense on a permanent deal. Pitaluga joined Liverpool from the Brazilian outfit but failed to make a first-team appearances. He had loan spells with non-league side Macclesfield, League of Ireland club St Patrick’s Athletic and spent the first half of this season with Livingston in the Scottish Championship.

But now he’s decided to rejoin his boyhood club Fluminense. A Liverpool statement said: “Goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga has agreed a permanent transfer from Liverpool to former club Fluminense, subject to international clearance.

“The Brazilian is set to bid farewell to the Reds after a spell of more than four years, in which he was named in the senior matchday squad on seven occasions. During his time with the club, Pitaluga also represented Macclesfield FC, St Patrick’s Athletic and, most recently, Livingston on loan.

“He will now return to Fluminense in his home country, the team with whom he began his career before joining Liverpool. Everyone at LFC wishes Marcelo the best of luck for the future.”

Liverpool reportedly allowed Pitaluga to return to Fluminense on a free transfer. However, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that the Reds installed a 40 per cent sell-on clause in his contract should the former Brazil youth international be sold in the future.

Flu posted on X: “Fluminense Football Club and @LFC announce the transfer of goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga, who will undergo medical examinations before signing the contract. The athlete, who came through the youth ranks of Fluminense, turned 22 in December.”

Pitaluga will leave a Liverpool goalkeeping department that is extremely healthy. Alisson Becker firmly is first-choice keeper - as he has been since joining from AS Roma in 2018. The Brazil international has been part of the Reds’ rise back to the pinnacle of European football, winning seven major trophies.

Caoimhin Kelleher is regarded as a capable deputy, though, and was highly impressive when he had a sustained spell in the starting line-up earlier this season when Alisson was sidelined with a hamstring injury. The Republic of Ireland international has made it clear he would like to be a No.1, with Liverpool rebuffing interest from Nottingham Forest in the past.

Viteslav Jaros is No.3 at Anfield. The Czech Republic stopper made his debut off the bench in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace when Alisson suffered his hamstring issue and Kelleher was absent due to illness. Jaros then made his full bow in a 3-2 win over Brighton in the Carabao Cup.

Liverpool also have Giorgi Mamardashvili arriving next summer. The Reds agreed a deal with Valencia to sign the Georgia international for up to £29 million in August but part of the conditions were that he remained at the Spanish side for the remainder of the campaign.