“Ready For The Premier League” – Scout On ‘Outstanding’ Liverpool Target; Similar To Jan Oblak | OneFootball

Written by Priya Kaur

A move that is looking quite promising- Giorgi Mamardashvili to Liverpool with two seasons on loan to Bournemouth, or potentially a prolonged stay at the Mestalla Stadium.

Liverpool have raised their offer; now a bid of €35 million and bonuses which is closer to Valencia’s €40 million valuation.

We spoke to former Dinamo Tbilisi scout, Mikha Gabechava to find out what he saw in the 23-year-old goalkeeper.

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On his initial thoughts on Giorgi, Mikha immediately went to the player’s physical attributes.

He said: “When he was in Georgia he was lean and very tall.

“The first client we signed was Giorgi Mamardashvili as we saw his potential and the thing that stood out was both his technical and physical abilities as well as his resilience and character.

“Even when Giorgi was 19 years old, his jumping reach, both vertically and horizontally, was amazing and he was saving shots that were nearly impossible. His reaction time and flexibility were impressive for a goalkeeper of his stature.”

On his mentality, Mikha discussed Giorgi’s reaction to his own mistakes as a young goalkeeper, saying that “he was never panicking even though he was making harsh mistakes, and quickly moving on from them.”

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Mikha shared an insight on Giorgi’s first few games at Valencia labelling his performances as “excellent” but it was evident that Giorgi was not used to travelling around Spain.

“Giorgi was so frustrated after making a few harsh mistakes in Sevilla, but the thing that impressed everybody the most is the fact that the next day, he woke up like a new person and started preparing for the next game.

“His resilience and character is the thing that keeps him going and is what has developed his character today.”

On his work ethic, Mikha said: “After only a few months in Spain, Giorgi was becoming a monster because he was doing extra work every single day and his main competitor was Jasper Cillessen, so he knew he had to put in significantly extra work to be better than him.”

“His work ethic is outstanding, even in the national team, he is one of the most hard-working players we have, and he has undergone an incredible physical development to transform into a totally different player.”

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When asked about his ability to perform at the top level in the modern day, Mikha observed that Giorgi would’ve been a great line goalkeeper previously because: “When he went on loan from Dinamo, his coach was famous for playing possession-style football and he was constantly demanding the goalkeeper to play out from the back, make some passes to break the lines, and to perform well under pressure.

“He was quite uncomfortable doing that as he wasn’t as confident on the ball back then.

“Under his goalkeeper coach, Giorgi developed his footwork significantly because he was demanding him to play from the back, so his development with that has made him ready for the Premier League.”

“Every player has to adapt to the Premier League, due to several factors, and the loan to Bournemouth will be a perfect step for him.”

When asked who compares most to Mamardashvili, Mikha immediately revealed “Jan Oblak.”

Mikha believes that Giorgi has huge potential to develop during his move to Bournemouth, which will help him play like Alisson and thrive under Arne Slot’s system, claiming that “he will be one of the best and has all the ingredients to become amongst the top two, three goalkeepers in the world.”

Redmen Reacts

Anyone who was at Anfield that fateful night as an Oblak-inspired Atletico Madrid eliminated The Reds from the Champions League will testify that comparisons to the shot-stopper are high praise indeed.

Whilst this may not be a signing of the here and now, futureproofing the goalkeeping department for life after Alisson and Kelleher has to be viewed as a smart piece of business in isolation.

More recent reports have suggested that Marmardashvili could make the switch to Merseyside in future, however, instead of landing at Premier League rivals Bournemouth, could be set for a stay in Spain and his current club Valencia.