The conundrum of next season’s Liverpool goalkeeper continues as Arne Slot has Alisson, Caoimhin Kelleher and Giorgi Mamardashvili to choose from.
Alisson has been the outright number one since joining the club in 2018, kicking off a successful spell for former boss Jurgen Klopp, while Kelleher has been the deputy ever since and hasn’t put a foot wrong in the time since the Brazilian was injured.
Many consider the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper good enough to be a number one for a Premier League club, although no transfer materialized in the summer and Nottingham Forest were reportedly interested.
It appears Alisson has also run his race after being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in recent summers, although he decided to commit Liverpool this season. That could change next season with the upcoming Mamardashvili However.
Alisson is still Slot’s number one choice when fit, although the Liverpool legend John Aldridge believes Kelleher should be ahead of him in the pecking order at the moment.
He said: “I think Caoimhin Kelleher has been our standout player. He has a huge future ahead of him at the club.
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“If Alisson is fit, I still think the manager should stay with Kelleher. Ali has done nothing wrong at all and I think he will recognize the situation. He will think: ‘I cannot return to this team’ and that is Hard to say because he’s so good.”
Kelleher is only 25 years old and still has years ahead of him. Should Liverpool allow him to leave the club next summer, they could regret the decision in the future.
Aldridge continued: “It will be such a difficult decision for Arne to make. We’ll see what happens, but I just think Kelleher should be number one. I’m sure many people will disagree with me.”
Kelleher has made eight appearances in both the Premier League and Champions League this season, showing he is more than capable of playing at this level.
Aldridge added: “If you get injured and someone gets your place and he scores goals, you don’t get your place back, no matter who you are. That’s why we used to play with cortisone injections so we could keep our place! It doesn’t sound good, but that’s what you had to do. Kelleher was great.”
Kelleher has progressed through Liverpool’s youth academy since joining the boyhood club Ringmahon Rangers.