Liverpool FC writer Neil Jones has had his say on Caoimhin Kelleher’s transfer situation this summer in the latest edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column.
The Liverpool backup goalkeeper could surely be playing regularly for other clubs in the Premier League, having shown himself to be a very reliable second choice for Jurgen Klopp in recent times.
It seems unlikely that Kelleher is going to break past Alisson into Liverpool’s starting line up any time soon, so it will be interesting to see what happens with him this summer, with Jones admitting that it’s not yet looking particularly concrete in any particular direction.
Jones admits it could be risky to loan Kelleher out, but he’s also played down links with a move to Tottenham, though he admitted he’s aware of past interest from Leicester City and Southampton, who have both now been relegated from the Premier League to the Championship.
“There’s also Caoimhin Kelleher, who along with Phillips seems like an obvious candidate to sell, but as of yet there’s not been any development there,” Jones said.
“I was slightly sceptical of links with Tottenham earlier in the summer as it would be a big jump for him to replace a World Cup winner like Hugo Lloris. Kelleher has great ability, don’t get me wrong, he’s a fine goalkeeper, but he’s only played something like 25 games in his career, so it would be a huge leap up for him, unless they were signing him as a backup.
“I know in the past that Leicester looked at Kelleher, and another relegated side, Southampton, that also looked at him before they signed Gavin Bazunu, who’s also keeping Kelleher out of the Republic of Ireland team.
“Brentford might be worth keeping an eye on as they could look to sign a new goalkeeper this summer, as they face losing David Raya, but it’s also worth remembering that Jurgen Klopp has said it would take an extraordinary offer for Kelleher to leave – a loan deal could be done, but that might also be risky from Liverpool’s point of view.”