Liverpool back-up goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has expressed concern over how his performances in Alisson’s absence over the coming weeks could complicate a potential sale.
The long-running number two openly wanted to leave Merseyside last summer in search of sustained first team football. Kelleher has only had opportunities in the Premier League when Alisson, the undisputed first choice, has been injured.
The Brazilian striker was sidelined with a hamstring injury before the October international break. discarding it up to seven games. Kelleher stepped up for the first of those games on Sunday, helping his side to a 2-1 win against Chelsea, but has acknowledged that every composed performance gives Liverpool license to increase its price.
“I played so many times last season and if you do well your rating goes up,” Kelleher told al telegraph earlier this month. “Obviously the club will want to make a good profit.”
Kelleher attracted the attention of a number of suitors over the summer, but none of them matched the £20m fee the club have placed on the 25-year-old, whose current Liverpool deal does not expire until in June 2026.
“There was some interest,” Kelleher revealed. “It’s normal when you play at a club like Liverpool and obviously I had a long spell in goal last season and I thought I did pretty well. I spoke to the manager about the situation but I wouldn’t change never because the fact is that I am facing Alisson and he is one of the best in the world, so he will always be the number ui and he will always play.
“There were other factors like the negotiations with the clubs and Liverpool that I needed to be happy. At the end of the day, it didn’t materialize and I didn’t move.”
The Republic of Ireland international has made it abundantly clear that he cannot stay on the sidelines for much longer. “I’m not going to enjoy or be happy sitting on the bench,” he added. The imminent arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was signed in August for £30m and will join the squad next summer after a loan spell at Valencia, sees Kelleher stay longer in the Liverpool pecking order.
AlissonThe goalkeeper’s extended absence will give the eager goalkeeper some much-needed playing time, which he plans to use to his advantage. “The best thing I can do is go play well and, yeah, maybe give coach something to think about, maybe give him a headache,” Kelleher said. “If I play as well, how can he take me out, something like that. Do as well as I can to at least put pressure.”
It’s not all bad for the frustrated shooter. As he acknowledged: “It’s not the worst thing in the world to stay at a club like Liverpool.”
