Amidst all the attention on Liverpool completing their second “major” signing of the transfer window, it’s easy to miss the fact that the Reds have also got a new goalkeeper on their books as of today.
Certainly signed as one for the future, MK Dons’ David Martin became a Liverpool player after signing for an undisclosed fee this morning. He had his medical yesterday and agreed personal terms.
Speaking to the MK Dons’ official website at www.wimbledon-fc.co.uk, Martin said he was still finding it hard to believe what had happened: “Obviously I’m really looking forward to it. But I suppose it might take a couple of months for me to actually realise what I’ve achieved in signing for Liverpool. On Wednesday I went for the medial and to agree personal terms, so it wasn’t actually finalised until then.”
Martin says he found out last week that the two clubs had agreed their part of the deal, but he was made to keep quiet about it until the formalities had been completed: “I’d actually known for a week prior to that though, but it was off the record. The call came through to the club, so it has been hard to keep things under wraps because I’ve been so excited about it. It was a long wait between the trial and actually finding out whether they wanted to sign me. But it has certainly been worth the wait.”
MK Dons’ boss Danny Wilson described the move as “wonderful” for the youngster: “David has earned a wonderful move to Liverpool and it was impossible to stand in his way with that sort of reward ahead of him. It’s a tremendous testament to the boy himself and the coaching staff such as Paul Heald, and it will be very interesting to see how he does at Anfield.”
Liverpool have more goalkeepers than centre-backs on their books at the moment, but that will soon change. Chris Kirkland has spent this season on loan at West Brom and after having his squad number taken over by Momo Sissoko seems unlikely to keep goal for the Reds again. Hero of Istanbul Jerzy Dudek is desperate for Liverpool to let him go, and if a suitable offer comes in no doubt Rafael BenÃtez will allow him to leave. Pepe Reina has proven himself to be the rightful number one goalkeeper at the club this season, playing a huge part in the improvement of the team in the league compared to last term. A more than able deputy, but still with time to learn more, is Scott Carson, who made an appearance in the FA Cup at the weekend. Martin is likely to become the third-choice keeper for the time being, but will benefit from the input of Liverpool goalkeeping coach Jose Ochotorena.