Liverpool Transfer News: Reds Must Move for Cut-Price Keylor Navas

The 2014 World Cup has been lauded for a stream of stunning goals and enterprising football, but the reality is that there would have been many, many more high-scoring games had it not been for some stunning goalkeeping performances.

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And while there has been a plethora of standout goalkeepers in the competition, the best of the lot has been Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas. Naturally, the Levante stopper has been linked with a move to some of Europe’s most illustrious outfits, with Liverpool one of three clubs showing an interest in his services.

That’s according to John Cross of the Mirror, who claims that the 27-year-old has been courted by the Reds, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid. He’d also be available for a meagre fee of £6.5 million, the buyout-clause amount written into the Costa Rican’s contract.

After his heroics for his country at the Brazil showpiece, the Costa Rican’s team-mate, Celso Borges, has branded Navas as from another planet, claiming “he was born on Mars or Venus, or something. He’s fantastic.” Navas’ assistant coach with the national team, Paulo Wanchope, has also lavished praise on the goalkeeper, tipping him with a move to a massive club, per John Cross of the Mirror:

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Navas is the best keeper in Spain and I think he is the best keeper at the World Cup. He has made some really great saves – of course the penalty – and I think he will end up at a great, great club.

A lot of our players are playing for their future and we will see what happens with the likes of [midfielder] Yeltsin Tejeda or Navas.

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Navas has been nothing short of remarkable in this World Cup, but his stock in Spain has been high for a long time. According to WhoScored.com’s ratings, he was the best goalkeeper in any of Europe’s top five leagues last season:

His shot-stopping abilities have long been outstanding for Levante, who finished in 10th position in La Liga last season. But now the secret seems to be out, and Navas is hot property.

The Levante man was awarded the man-of-the-match award after Costa Rica triumphed over Greece in the round of 16, per the official World Cup Twitter account, a game in which Los Ticos triumphed on penalties and Navas made a string of magnificent saves.

Liverpool may have splashed out on Simon Mignolet last summer, and they have Pepe Reina returning from a loan spell with Napoli. But that should not deter them from making a move for the Costa Rican, who at this juncture is a class above both of the aforementioned players.

Here’s a taster of the qualities he could potentially bring to Anfield:

The Reds have already bolstered their squad substantially with the acquisitions of Emre Can, Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana, with Rodgers obviously keen on having a well-balanced squad to cope with the dual demands of domestic and Champions League football. He will have to rotate his squad astutely to keep Liverpool fresh on both fronts, and with that in mind, he’ll need to have two very capable goalkeepers.

Mignolet was very hit-and-miss in his first season at Anfield, making some wonderful saves but some very costly errors too. With Reina out on loan, the Belgian didn’t really have much in terms of genuine competition and perhaps that’s why a little bit of complacency crept into his game.

With Reina's future at Anfield still unclear, if the Spaniard were to leave the club, Navas not only would provide both competition and cover, but also, given time, has the class to oust Mignolet from the starting XI, such is his quality.

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For a fee of £6.5 million, moving for Navas is a no-brainer and would provide the Reds with some much-needed strength in depth ahead of what promises to be an enthralling campaign.