Liverpool completed a deal to sign Lucca Brughmans at the end of the summer transfer window, with the young goalkeeper remaining at Genk for this season.The 18-year-old will link up with the Reds next year in a deal which could reach £30m after add-ons (BBC Sport) and will spend the remainder of this campaign on loan at the Belgian club in order to gain senior experience.The 6 foot 7 stopper has been ever-present for his current side in their first five league matches of 2026/27 and made a spectacular save in their 0-0 draw against Anderlecht on Sunday.Lucca Brughmans showed a taste of what he can offer to Liverpool in Genk's 0-0 draw against Anderlecht at the weekend! pic.twitter.com/P1jAWCJrtv— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) September 7, 2026Genk boss vows to ‘protect’ Brughmans before Liverpool moveGenk head coach Jess Thorup has vowed to ‘protect’ Brughmans over the next few months ahead of his move to Liverpool as the youngster seeks to absorb the scale of the transfer to Anfield.The 56-year-old told Het Laatste Nieuws: “Naturally, I’ve spoken to Lucca about his transfer. We talked about the experience of going to Liverpool, and the involvement of his family and so on. Every player dreams of this, and suddenly – before you fully realise it – you’re right in the middle of it. You need a moment to let something like that sink in.“On the other hand, it is the right choice for everyone that he stays for another year. He can continue to develop here, and we have a good goalkeeper at our disposal.“Of course, there’s a lot coming his way. He’s in the spotlight because of the fee involved. I’ll protect him at the right moments, because we mustn’t forget that the role of Genk’s first-choice goalkeeper is still quite new to him.“Steven Frederix (Genk goalkeeping coach) and I will assess match by match whether we need to give him a rest. Even though he’s only 18, I can see that he remains calm and focused.“He’s already been back on the training pitch for a few days. The realisation that his life has changed will probably sink in sometime over the coming weeks.”(Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustBrughmans gaining vital experience before Liverpool moveThorup is right – the current arrangement would appear to be the most beneficial for all parties concerned.By remaining with Genk for this season, Brughmans is getting an opportunity to play regularly that he wouldn’t have had at Liverpool with Alisson Becker as number 1, and the Belgian club are gaining from having him as their first-choice goalkeeper.The Reds’ long-serving Brazil international is into the last year of his contract and could plausibly depart next summer after almost a decade at Anfield, with our new signing potentially vying with Giorgi Mamardashvili for a starting spot thereafter.The likely scenario is that the Belgian youngster will initially serve as understudy to the Georgian and seek to prove himself in domestic cup ties, whilst ensuring that he’s ready to step up if he’s required at short notice (for example, if our number 25 were to get sent off or suffer an injury mid-game.For now, Brughmans can continue to gain vital experience at Genk and prepare himself as best as possible for life as a Liverpool first-team player from next season. His display at the weekend suggests that he’d be more than capable of making that significant transition.The post Head coach claims recent Liverpool transfer development was the ‘right choice for everyone’ appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.