Liverpool have had a number of outfield players forced to go in goal during games, and now Caoimhin Kelleher has cast his vote for which current player he’d choose to don the gloves.
Before backup goalkeepers were readily named as substitutes, you would often see outfield players thrust between the sticks due to injury or red cards.
For Liverpool, we have seen the likes of Steve Staunton, David Burrows and Jose Enrique having to change kits and put on the gloves to help see the game out.
We, unfortunately, or fortunately, don’t get to see it too often these days in the topflight due to squad depth and the number of options you can have off the bench.
That does not stop fans or players alike from considering who they would throw into the role if it came to it.
Kelleher has now cast his vote for who he thinks would be best, though he may have an ulterior motive, saying in a club Q&A: “Maybe Diogo Jota.
“He always gives out [banter] about the goalkeepers when goals go in and stuff, so I’d just like to put him in net so he can find out how hard it is!
“I’d give trading places with him a go too because I played as a striker until I was about 13, but it might be too much running for me these days, to be honest!”
We wouldn’t mind seeing that, although maybe not in a high-stakes game! At 5’8″, Jota is on the smaller size for a goalkeeper so you sense he would quickly appreciate how tough the job is.
Liverpool do have history with their left-backs taking on the emergency role, though, so Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas should perhaps be in the conversation.
