I have not seen much mention of him here – but could it be that in all our discussions about Liverpool goalkeepers we are missing a solution that's right under our noses? Eastern Europe has produced some of the best goalkeepers in recent memory and so far Grabara looks like a really exciting prospect with all the physical, technical and mental qualities of a top goalkeeper. He's recently won the position of Poland U21 #1, signed a new professional deal with LFC and now trains with the first team regularly. Here is an article from December with some good background:
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Kamil Grabara is in no doubt that he is the best goalkeeper in the world, yet before he moved to Liverpool in 2016 few outside of his native Poland knew his name. Speaking to Przeglad Sportowy in November, the teenager overlooked Manuel Neuer, David de Gea, Gianluigi Buffon and Jan Oblak and opted to name himself football’s greatest stopper, adding “I’m also the most interesting person on Twitter.” Not turning 19 until January, Grabara is not short of confidence, and this cocksure charisma underlines him as one of the finest prospects currently in the Reds’ academy.
Grabara joined Liverpool from Ruch Chorzow, having already made his senior debut at 16 and spending time with both Manchester United and Manchester City on trial, ensuring the £250,000 deal to bring him to Anfield was something of a coup. Following the signing of Marko Grujic from Red Star Belgrade, Grabara became the second player to join the Reds since Jurgen Klopp took over as manager in 2015—though his first months on Merseyside were spent in transition, as he sought international clearance.
However, while this time out of action could have deterred the young Pole, instead Grabara saw it as an opportunity to improve on the training field. “I went to the gym for two workouts a day,” he recalled. “There are boys who do not want to and they do something half-heartedly. I came to it differently. OK, I’m not playing for half a year, but I can progress, because I do not have to recharge after the match.” Grabara arrived at Liverpool a lithe 172lbs which, standing at 6’2”, made him relatively small for a goalkeeper, but by the time he made his debut he was a well-built 205lbs.
This was as much a product of his baptism of fire, quickly promoted to regular training under Klopp at Melwood, as it was his time on the sidelines, and Grabara admitted sessions with the German’s first-team squad came as a culture shock. “I put on new gloves and I could not catch any balls because it was raining and slippery,” he said. “Plus after warming up I felt sick. The intensity was very different from the one I experienced in Poland.” This has steeled the self-assured Grabara for the rigours of English football, and since receiving his work permit in 2016 he has been a prominent fixture in Liverpool’s academy ranks.
While there is vast competition in the Reds’ young goalkeeping ranks—with fellow imports Caoimhin Kelleher and Viteslav Jaros also vying with more local talents in Shamal George, Andy Firth, Dan Atherton and Ben Williams—Grabara has been stationed head and shoulders above the rest. He has predominantly served as the Liverpool Under-23s’ first-choice goalkeeper this season, but has also been called upon at under-18 level and was an ever-present for Steven Gerrard’s under-19s in the group stage of the UEFA Youth League. Gerrard has described Grabara as a “top, top goalkeeper,” and would be difficult to argue with the Reds’ legendary former captain.
Grabara is one of the most gifted all-round goalkeepers at youth level in England. His time in the gym in his early days at Liverpool, and his upbringing learning to dive on “gravel and stones” with boyhood club Wawel Wirek, have provided him with a fearless physicality, and he blends this with an impressive agility and a well-tuned instinct in coming off his line. He is able to dominate aerial challenges in the penalty area, and his distribution—both long and short—is improving rapidly.
He operates on the front foot, and this has seen Gerrard look to utilise Grabara as a sweeper-keeper behind his high defensive line in Europe, which saw the teenager caught out in the young Reds’ 4-1 victory away to Maribor. But the way in which Grabara responded to his error—one of the first notable mistakes the Poland Under-21 international has made since joining Liverpool—including a penalty save to deny Tomi Horvat, caught Gerrard’s eye, with the coach saying “nine out of 10 ‘keepers would have felt sorry for themselves and probably gone missing or tried to make up for the mistake in the wrong way, but Kamil was very calm and experienced.” Grabara believes his confidence gives him the edge in this regard, inviting “extra pressure” on himself; and in an age of increasingly reflective, studious goalkeepers, it is refreshing to witness one operating on intuition.
There is certainly a comparison to be made between Grabara’s standout displays for Liverpool’s academy sides this season and those of Danny Ward for the club’s under-21s in 2014/15; his last campaign at youth level before stepping up to the senior stage on a regular basis on loan with Aberdeen. Ward produced a plethora of dominant displays between the sticks that season, serving as the complete package for Michael Beale’s side, and given that came when he was three years older than Grabara is now, this serves as an impressive yardstick of the Pole’s quality.
Ward’s stagnant first half of 2017/18 under Klopp this time out should serve as a warning for Grabara, however, with the 24-year-old serving as third choice behind Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius—more often in the stands than on the substitutes’ bench, let alone the pitch. Klopp has rotated Mignolet and Karius throughout the season so far, but there is seemingly no endgame in sight; if the latter was being moulded as Liverpool’s No. 1, he would surely have usurped his elder by now.
This presents a long-term target for Grabara, who signed a new five-year contract with the Reds at the beginning of December, underlining Klopp’s faith in a player who had already been afforded a valuable 45-minute outing with the first team during pre-season. It would be remiss to claim that Grabara is ready to make the step up to Premier League football at this stage, and the 18-year-old has stressed that he would be open to a loan move in January to prove himself to Klopp, but his excellent start to life on Merseyside suggests he is capable of taking the role as Liverpool’s No. 1 in the future.
A commanding presence both on and off the field, Grabara was born with the eccentricity that can give a top-level goalkeeper an edge—not least ex-Liverpool stopper Bruce Grobbelaar—and if he continues to progress, he can hope to catch Klopp’s eye sooner rather than later. That is, as long as he maintain his focus on becoming the best goalkeeper in the world, rather than the most interesting person on Twitter.
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Kamil Grabara is in no doubt that he is the best goalkeeper in the world, yet before he moved to Liverpool in 2016 few outside of his native Poland knew his name. Speaking to Przeglad Sportowy in November, the teenager overlooked Manuel Neuer, David de Gea, Gianluigi Buffon and Jan Oblak and opted to name himself football’s greatest stopper, adding “I’m also the most interesting person on Twitter.” Not turning 19 until January, Grabara is not short of confidence, and this cocksure charisma underlines him as one of the finest prospects currently in the Reds’ academy.
Grabara joined Liverpool from Ruch Chorzow, having already made his senior debut at 16 and spending time with both Manchester United and Manchester City on trial, ensuring the £250,000 deal to bring him to Anfield was something of a coup. Following the signing of Marko Grujic from Red Star Belgrade, Grabara became the second player to join the Reds since Jurgen Klopp took over as manager in 2015—though his first months on Merseyside were spent in transition, as he sought international clearance.
However, while this time out of action could have deterred the young Pole, instead Grabara saw it as an opportunity to improve on the training field. “I went to the gym for two workouts a day,” he recalled. “There are boys who do not want to and they do something half-heartedly. I came to it differently. OK, I’m not playing for half a year, but I can progress, because I do not have to recharge after the match.” Grabara arrived at Liverpool a lithe 172lbs which, standing at 6’2”, made him relatively small for a goalkeeper, but by the time he made his debut he was a well-built 205lbs.
This was as much a product of his baptism of fire, quickly promoted to regular training under Klopp at Melwood, as it was his time on the sidelines, and Grabara admitted sessions with the German’s first-team squad came as a culture shock. “I put on new gloves and I could not catch any balls because it was raining and slippery,” he said. “Plus after warming up I felt sick. The intensity was very different from the one I experienced in Poland.” This has steeled the self-assured Grabara for the rigours of English football, and since receiving his work permit in 2016 he has been a prominent fixture in Liverpool’s academy ranks.
While there is vast competition in the Reds’ young goalkeeping ranks—with fellow imports Caoimhin Kelleher and Viteslav Jaros also vying with more local talents in Shamal George, Andy Firth, Dan Atherton and Ben Williams—Grabara has been stationed head and shoulders above the rest. He has predominantly served as the Liverpool Under-23s’ first-choice goalkeeper this season, but has also been called upon at under-18 level and was an ever-present for Steven Gerrard’s under-19s in the group stage of the UEFA Youth League. Gerrard has described Grabara as a “top, top goalkeeper,” and would be difficult to argue with the Reds’ legendary former captain.
Grabara is one of the most gifted all-round goalkeepers at youth level in England. His time in the gym in his early days at Liverpool, and his upbringing learning to dive on “gravel and stones” with boyhood club Wawel Wirek, have provided him with a fearless physicality, and he blends this with an impressive agility and a well-tuned instinct in coming off his line. He is able to dominate aerial challenges in the penalty area, and his distribution—both long and short—is improving rapidly.
He operates on the front foot, and this has seen Gerrard look to utilise Grabara as a sweeper-keeper behind his high defensive line in Europe, which saw the teenager caught out in the young Reds’ 4-1 victory away to Maribor. But the way in which Grabara responded to his error—one of the first notable mistakes the Poland Under-21 international has made since joining Liverpool—including a penalty save to deny Tomi Horvat, caught Gerrard’s eye, with the coach saying “nine out of 10 ‘keepers would have felt sorry for themselves and probably gone missing or tried to make up for the mistake in the wrong way, but Kamil was very calm and experienced.” Grabara believes his confidence gives him the edge in this regard, inviting “extra pressure” on himself; and in an age of increasingly reflective, studious goalkeepers, it is refreshing to witness one operating on intuition.
There is certainly a comparison to be made between Grabara’s standout displays for Liverpool’s academy sides this season and those of Danny Ward for the club’s under-21s in 2014/15; his last campaign at youth level before stepping up to the senior stage on a regular basis on loan with Aberdeen. Ward produced a plethora of dominant displays between the sticks that season, serving as the complete package for Michael Beale’s side, and given that came when he was three years older than Grabara is now, this serves as an impressive yardstick of the Pole’s quality.
Ward’s stagnant first half of 2017/18 under Klopp this time out should serve as a warning for Grabara, however, with the 24-year-old serving as third choice behind Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius—more often in the stands than on the substitutes’ bench, let alone the pitch. Klopp has rotated Mignolet and Karius throughout the season so far, but there is seemingly no endgame in sight; if the latter was being moulded as Liverpool’s No. 1, he would surely have usurped his elder by now.
This presents a long-term target for Grabara, who signed a new five-year contract with the Reds at the beginning of December, underlining Klopp’s faith in a player who had already been afforded a valuable 45-minute outing with the first team during pre-season. It would be remiss to claim that Grabara is ready to make the step up to Premier League football at this stage, and the 18-year-old has stressed that he would be open to a loan move in January to prove himself to Klopp, but his excellent start to life on Merseyside suggests he is capable of taking the role as Liverpool’s No. 1 in the future.
A commanding presence both on and off the field, Grabara was born with the eccentricity that can give a top-level goalkeeper an edge—not least ex-Liverpool stopper Bruce Grobbelaar—and if he continues to progress, he can hope to catch Klopp’s eye sooner rather than later. That is, as long as he maintain his focus on becoming the best goalkeeper in the world, rather than the most interesting person on Twitter.
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