St Pat's seal loan deal for Liverpool stopper Marcelo Pitaluga 

The Brazilian follows in the footsteps of Vítezslav Jaros, who had a hugely successful spell with St Pat's for the 2021 season, where he helped the Saints to the FAI Cup.

LIVERPOOL CONNECTION: St Patrick's Athletic new signing Marcelo Pitaluga, left, on loan from Liverpool FC, with St Patrick's Athletic manager Jon Daly, at his unveiling at Richmond Park in Dublin. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

St Patrick's Athletic boss Jon Daly has sealed the loan signing of Liverpool goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga. 

Pitaluga will join St Pat's ahead of the 2024 Premier Division campaign having recently signed a new deal to extend his stay at Anfield. 

21-year-old Pitaluga is the second goalkeeper to join the Inchicore outfit on loan from the Premier League side in recent years. 

The Brazilian follows in the footsteps of Vítezslav Jaros, who had a successful spell with St Pat's for the 2021 season, where he helped the Saints to the FAI Cup.

The stopper - who joined Liverpool from recent Club World Cup finalists Fluminense in 2020 - spent time on loan at Macclesfield during the 2022/23 campaign, where he made 17 appearances.

Upon signing his deal at Richmond Park, Pitaluga said: "It feels amazing to have joined St Pat's, it's going to be a really big season and I can't wait.

"The Liverpool goalkeeper coach spoke to me about the possibility a few weeks ago, I heard many good things about St Patrick's and the League of Ireland from Vitezslav Jaros and also spoke to Jon (Daly) and PJ (Pat Jennings), I think it will be really good for my career so I decided to come here.

"Viet (Jaros) had many great things to say about the club and about the fans, the staff here, Pat Jennings is still here which is absolutely fantastic for me also.

"I watched clips of St Pat's online and I watched the FAI Cup final too which looked like an unbelievable experience for everyone, that played a part in my decision too so I'm looking forward to starting the season."

St Pat's boss Daly added: "We're really pleased to welcome Marcelo to the club and are looking forward to working with him.

"He is an excellent young goalkeeper, who we feel will improve our squad.

"Marcelo is someone who we've been monitoring for quite a while, we have met with him a number of times and been over to watch him train and play.

"He's coming from one of the biggest clubs in the world and has been training and playing at a really high level, we're looking forward to getting him involved with the team and helping him settle into the group ahead of the new season."