The 39-year old’s arrival is something of a left-field development, with the former Arsenal goalkeeper making just 36 appearances in the past four seasons at previous club FC Augsburg.
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The swoop for the Austrian comes after young ‘keepers Danny Ward and Ryan Fulton went out on loan to Huddersfield Town and Chesterfield respectively to garner first-team experience, while Adam Bogdan has moved to Wigan Athletic for a season.
At Anfield, the experienced keeper would be third in the pecking order behind Simon Mignolet and new signing Loris Karius.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes that the signing of Alex Manninger is the “best solution” for the club’s other goalkeepers to continue their development.
He told the official Liverpool website: “This [playing as a back-up] is for every player, because you only start with 11 and the other 10, 12, 14 don’t know when they’ll play or if they’ll play”.
Liverpool are also on the verge of signing Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle in a £25m deal.
“Obviously it’s probably not the time for me to push for the next three or four years to get a place in the goal”.
“When Liverpool were on the phone, it was a great pleasure for me to take it on because it gives me what I was looking for”.
“I am so happy that we have got him and he can join us now in the United States of America”, said Klopp after the signing was confirmed.
Remember Alex Manninger? The man who played 20 league games for Arsenal between 1997 and 2000?
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“But I’m definitely a guy who wants quality around and that is why I’ve chosen this club now, because it has got it”.
