Caoimhin Kelleher has admitted he “wants to go” after the signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili signalled Liverpool’s “decision to go another direction.”
Last season, Kelleher played 26 times for Liverpool and lifted the second League Cup of his young career. However, once Alisson returned to fitness, the Irishman was immediately displaced.
Kelleher hasn’t been shy about saying he wants to be a No. 1 goalkeeper for a top club and he has now issued perhaps his strongest statement yet.
The Irish Times report Kelleher’s comments, with the goalkeeper saying: “I made it clear in the last few years I want to go be a number one and play week in, week out.”
“The club made the decision to get another goalkeeper [Mamardashvili]. From the outside looking in, it looks like they have made a decision to go in another direction.
“My ambition has always been clear the last few seasons, that I want to be a number one. It looks like it is 100 per cent my decision but at times it is not always in my hands.”
Over the summer, Liverpool agreed to sign the Georgian ‘keeper for £29 million but he will remain at Valencia for at least another season.
Kelleher: Liverpool rejected bids
With Vitezslav Jaros returning from an impressive loan spell at Sturm Graz, Kelleher will have hoped this would allow him to leave this summer, but no transfer materialised.
“My ambition is to go out and play, and be a number one,” added Kelleher. “It has been reported that Liverpool had rejected a few bids as well.
“It is not always in my hands to make the decision. My ambition is to prove I am good enough to play week in, week out.”
The Reds value Kelleher at about £35 million, a reasonable fee in the current climate given his talent and relative experience for a 25-year-old ‘keeper.
However, they didn’t receive offers close to that this summer, the club notably rejecting a bid from Nottingham Forest that was “well below Liverpool’s valuation,” according to the Times‘ Paul Joyce.
The Athletic‘s James Pearce added that the proposed deal would also have seen Forest’s American ‘keeper, Matt Turner, move to Anfield.
Celtic, Brighton and Brentford were also linked with a move for Liverpool’s shot-stopper.
What Arne Slot has said
In addition to the fact that Liverpool didn’t receive a sufficient fee for Kelleher, Arne Slot also wants competition for Alisson, who recently revealed he wants to stay at the club until at least 2026.
“If you work at a club like Liverpool you need competition and we need a lot of good players,” Slot explained.
“Mamardashvili is someone for the long future of the club, and I’m really, really happy with the goalkeepers we have at the moment.
“Caoimh is one of them, like Vit [Jaros] and Ali. We’re in a good place when it comes to goalkeepers for now and for the long term.”
There are currently no worries over Kelleher’s professionalism or commitment to Liverpool on a day-to-day basis, and he is likely to play in the League Cup again this season.
For a goalkeeper of his talent, though, it is understandable that he would want to play every week at a high level.
