On 1 September 2026, the last day of the window, Liverpool announced the agreement for Lucca Brughmans, the eighteen year old Genk goalkeeper, and in the same statement said the boy stays in Belgium for the whole season. Bought and sent back in the same paragraph.
It is a type of deal that has become common on young goalkeepers in recent years, and it is worth seeing it for what it is: an investment in a position where the time to maturity is longer than in any other role.
The profile
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Lucca Kiaba Mounganga Brughmans |
| Born | 27 June 2008, Antwerp |
| Age | 18 |
| Height | 1.97 metres |
| Position | Goalkeeper |
| Club | KRC Genk, on loan from Liverpool for 2026/27 |
| At Genk since | 2022, arrived from the PSV Eindhoven academy |
| Professional debut | 19 January 2025, Jong Genk, 2 to 2 against Seraing |
| Genk first team | 11 appearances per Liverpool, 13 per encyclopaedic entries, 15 per one outlet |
| Jong Genk | 32 appearances |
| Youth national teams | Belgium, Under 15 to Under 19, Under 17 captain at the 2025 Euro and World Cup |
Three numbers for the same thing, and it is worth saying so
On first team appearances the sources we consulted give eleven, thirteen and fifteen. This is not a footnote: it is the measure of how little he has played, and on a total that small the gap between eleven and fifteen is thirty per cent of the career.
Part of the gap explains itself: the encyclopaedic figure also counts matches played this season, after the Liverpool statement. The rest probably depends on which competitions are counted, which is the most banal and most frequent explanation for this kind of divergence. We report all three rather than choose one: the lowest is the one in the statement of the club that bought him, the source with the least interest in inflating it.
The figure nobody disputes is the other one: thirty two appearances for the reserve side, in the Challenger Pro League. That is where he learned the trade, and for a goalkeeper that is the real school: second division matches, improvised defences in front of him and plenty of shots to face.
One metre ninety seven, and what that actually means
Height is the number that jumps out, and it needs care, because in goalkeeping it cuts both ways.
On one hand it covers: almost two metres means a smaller goal for the shooter, an advantage on high balls and a physical presence on crosses. On the other it costs: very tall goalkeepers take longer to get down to low shots and to balls near the post, and coordination on the ground is the part of the job that is built most slowly.
That is exactly why a club buying a goalkeeper of that height at eighteen does not keep him on a Premier League bench: it sends him to play. Read that way, Liverpool’s decision is not caution, it is the technical consequence of the signing.
The deal, without the newspaper figures
The Liverpool statement declares three things: the agreement with Genk, the signature of a long term contract and the immediate loan. It does not declare the fee, which is the number everyone has repeated: the English press talks of around thirty million pounds and a six year contract, and the same press reports that Liverpool saw off competition from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
And on how the deal is actually structured the sources do not agree, so we say so. The statement, as reported, describes a purchase with an immediate loan back to Genk for 2026/27. An encyclopaedic entry instead describes a pre-contract agreement effective from 1 July 2027, that is with the player remaining a Genk player for another full season. The two readings change something concrete, namely who holds his registration right now, and we do not resolve it here: the difference is written down so that the reader knows it exists.
All of that should be kept for what it is: journalists’ reconstructions, not lines of a statement. If the figure were confirmed it would be one of the highest ever spent on a goalkeeper of that age, and that is precisely why we are not writing it as fact.
The player’s words, carried in the statement, say less than the numbers but say something true about this point of his career: “very happy and grateful. A huge step and an incredible opportunity”.
What to watch this season
For a goalkeeper the most quoted statistics are the worst ones to use on a small sample. Goals conceded depend on the defence, clean sheets depend on how much the team attacks.
The two indicators worth following are different.
The first is the number of starts in the Genk first team: below twenty, the loan year will not have produced enough material to judge him, and in June 2027 Liverpool will be where they are now.
The second is his handling of low balls and of claims in the six yard box, which is the point where height stops being an advantage. That is not something you read in a table: you see it by watching him.
Sources: Liverpool FC statement of 1 September 2026 for the agreement with Genk, the long term contract, the loan and the player’s quotes; encyclopaedic entries and statistical profiles for the biographical data, height, academy path, the Jong Genk debut date and the appearances; English press reports for the fee and the contract length, which the club has not published. All three versions of the first team appearances are reported, with an indication of which source gives which number.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Lucca Brughmans?
A Belgian goalkeeper born in Antwerp on 27 June 2008, 1.97 metres tall, of Belgian and Congolese descent. He came through at Genk, which he joined in 2022 from the PSV Eindhoven academy.
What did Liverpool announce?
On 1 September 2026 the club announced the agreement to sign him from Genk and the signature of a long term contract. In the same statement it said the player returns to Genk on loan for the whole of 2026/27.
How much did he cost?
Liverpool has not published it. The English press reports a figure around thirty million pounds and a six year contract: those are journalistic reconstructions, not club data.
How many first team games has he played?
It depends who is counting, and the difference is worth stating. The Liverpool statement mentions eleven appearances with the Genk first team and thirty two with the reserves. An encyclopaedic entry gives twelve with Genk and thirty two with Jong Genk. One outlet reports fifteen, with six clean sheets and fifteen goals conceded. The lowest figure is the one from the club that bought him.
When did he make his professional debut?
On 19 January 2025, with Jong Genk, in a 2 to 2 draw against Seraing in the Challenger Pro League, the Belgian second division.
Has he played for the youth national teams?
Yes, from Under 15 to Under 19. He captained Belgium Under 17 at the 2025 European Championship and World Cup, and Liverpool describe him as the Under 19 captain.
Why is he going back to Genk on loan rather than staying at Liverpool?
Because an eighteen year old goalkeeper with eleven professional appearances needs to play, and in the Premier League he would not. The loan is stated by the club in the same release that announces the signing.
