The player’s loan from Liverpool was short-lived as a change of department under Arne Slot was expected

Marcelo Pitaluga, the promising Brazilian goalkeeper, has cut short his loan spell at St. Patrick’s Athletic and returned to Liverpool.

After a successful spell at Macclesfield last season, Pitaluga joined the Irish outfit in January following a contract extension with the Reds. The plan was for him to stay until the end of the League of Ireland Premier Division season, which runs from February to November.

However, after a less-than-stellar start at St. Pat’s, the 21-year-old found himself on the bench at the start of March, making just six appearances in all competitions. Despite a change in management with the arrival of former Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny in May, Pitaluga’s situation did not improve, adding just one appearance to his tally.

It is understood that the decision for Pitaluga to return to Liverpool was mutual given the lack of playing time. With significant changes taking place within Liverpool’s goalkeeping department this summer, including the exits of John Achterberg and Jack Robinson, it was agreed that it would be beneficial for Pitaluga to train under new head of first team goalkeeping coach Fabian Otto.

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“There were transformational changes here in the off-season anyway, with a lot of signings,” Kenny said. “Three came back this week – Kieran (Freeman) in Scotland, we also said goodbye to Marcelo (Pitaluga), a great guy and I think he’s got a good career ahead of him.”

“And Alfie (Taylor) is back at Hull. Joe Anang has been training with us since Monday and hopefully I’ll have one next week but we’ll have to see.”

Kenny later praised the Brazilian goalkeeper, stating: “They (Liverpool) want him back, he’s back training with the first team. He’s a breath of fresh air, a great guy. We like Marcelo, a really talented athletic goalkeeper who he just did” I haven’t been in the team, I haven’t seen him play in the team here, apart from the Leinster Senior Cup, but he’s got a big future ahead of him.”

Even though Pitaluga’s time in Ireland has not been successful, a return to the Reds as they consider a goalkeeping change under manager Arne Slot is highly anticipated. Alisson Becker remains the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper at Anfield, but Adrian, who was third in line, is no longer with the Reds after his contract expired in June. Despite being offered an extension, the 37-year-old looks set to return to his former club Real Betis on a free transfer.

Furthermore, Caoimhin Kelleher’s future at Liverpool remains uncertain. The 25-year-old has previously expressed his willingness to seek first-team football elsewhere. If the Ireland international also leaves, it would leave Vitezslav Jaros, who had a successful loan spell at Sturm Graz last season, as Liverpool’s next most senior goalkeeper.

Jaros, 22, who was previously on loan at St. Pat’s, has been named in the Czech Republic’s Euro 2024 squad after impressing during his time with the Austrian side, helping them secure a league and cup double. However, there are rumors of a potential reunion with former Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders at Red Bull Salzburg, leaving his role as Alisson’s back-up at Anfield up in the air.

Regardless of these developments, Liverpool will begin their pre-season this week without both Alisson and Jaros due to their international commitments, with Alisson currently representing Brazil at the Copa America.

As a result, Liverpool’s senior goalkeeper options at the start of the summer are likely to be Kelleher, Pitaluga and Harvey Davies, with Jaros expected to return to the AXA Training Center in mid-July. If Brazil reach the Copa America quarter-finals, with their final group game against Colombia on Tuesday, Alisson could miss the start of Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States later this month.