The international manager of one Liverpool player has again called for him to move on from Anfield in search of more regular game-time.
Caoimhin Kelleher has proven to be one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League despite not being a first-choice starter at Anfield, with the 26-year-old consistently showcasing the extent of his talents whenever he’s deputised for the peerless Alisson Becker.
Unfortunately for the Cork native, there’ll be further competition next season in the form of Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Bournemouth are among the clubs with whom he’s been linked as rumours of a summer exit persist.
Hallgrimsson repeats plea for Kelleher to leave Liverpool
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has previously urged Liverpool’s number 62 to leave the Reds and seek first-choice status elsewhere, and he’s now repeated that call once more with the next batch of international fixtures less than a month away.
The 57-year-old has said (via The Mirror): “I just want Caoimhin to go to a club where he will play. He has been playing at the highest level – Champions League, Premier League, done really well.
“I just want him to be happy and play regularly. I don’t mind where he goes so long as he is playing on a regular basis. He is too good not to be playing.”
Liverpool should bank a hefty fee if they sell Kelleher this summer
To be fair to Hallgrimsson, we can understand his perspective on Kelleher’s future – it’d clearly be of benefit to the Irish national team if their first-choice goalkeeper was also starting every week at club level, and the 26-year-old has indeed proven himself worthy of being a fixed starter.
The Corkman has actually made it into double digits for Premier League starts for the past two seasons, largely due to various injury problems for Alisson, so he has had decent scope to showcase his qualities despite not being the Reds’ number one.
In his last 20 top-flight matches he’s kept six clean sheets (30%) and conceded only 23 goals (1.15 per game), and he’s made a string of excellent saves, not least the one to deny Kylian Mbappe from the penalty spot in our win over Real Madrid in November.
With Kelleher proving to be more than good enough at Premier League and Champions League level but likely to find it even tougher to start for Liverpool once Mamardashvili arrives, this summer feels like it could be the moment that he decides to move on.
It’ll be tough to lose such a top-class goalkeeper, but at least the Reds should be able to bank a hefty fee for the Irishman, and they’ll still have a quality backup to Alisson in the form of the incoming Georgia international.
