'He isn't getting any younger': BBC pundit suggests £30m Liverpool player really needs to be sold next year
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Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is now set for an extended run in the Reds first-team in wake of Alisson Becker’s apparent hamstring injury on Saturday.
Alisson pulled up with just under 15 minutes remaining of Liverpool’s 1-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace, undergoing extensive treatment on the pitch before coming off.
The Brazil international looked distraught in wake of suffering the injury, and was spotted punching the ground while undergoing treatment.
With Kelleher absent through illness, Vitezslav Jaros was introduced for his senior debut for the closing stages.
However, the Republic of Ireland international is now expected to fill in for Alisson until the latter returns to fitness.
Kelleher was an important figure for Liverpool last season, making 26 appearances in all competitions in wake of Alisson picking up a hamstring injury.
Shay Given has now spoken about Kelleher, praising the fact the Reds ace is now set for game time but also delivering a brutally honest assessment about his future.
Shay Given says Caoimhin Kelleher should’ve left Liverpool this summer
Given, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, admits he has “concerns” about Kelleher’s game time in the long-term.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has already made it clear that Alisson is still his number one, and the Reds also have Giorgi Mamardashvili arriving next season.
“The summer was the best time for Caoimhin to move on and show everyone he is good enough,” said Given, who won 134 caps for the Republic of Ireland.
“He is number one for Ireland at the minute and we need him to be playing regularly in the Premier League, because I think that is the level he is at.
“He is going to be back in the team now for sure – I think Alisson will be out for a few weeks – so he has got an opportunity again.
“But, at the same time, Caoimhin is 26 years old in November. He isn’t getting any younger. Each game that goes by where he doesn’t play, he will never get back.
“He has only got one career, one life and one opportunity at being a top goalkeeper.”
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Next summer could see a goalkeeping reshuffle at Liverpool
As things stand, Liverpool have one of the best goalkeepers in the world as first-choice and a brilliant keeper as second-choice.
There’s always a dilemma on the cards when a second-choice stopper is good enough to play regularly in the Premier League but has his path blocked by someone else.
This was the case at Arsenal when Argentine ace Emiliano Martinez was a perennial second-choice until he moved to Aston Villa and went on to make history for club and country.
However, there’s a good chance something will give next season, with Mamardashvili set to arrive in the summer.
Alisson’s contract will have two years to run at that point, which means the player and the club will have to decide how to proceed.
Although he’s not likely to leave next summer, it’s certainly not impossible, particularly if Liverpool start to get concerned over his injury record.
The most likely outcome seems to be that Alisson remains first-choice, Mamardashvili becomes second-choice, and Kelleher is finally allowed to move.
It has been reported that Liverpool have valued Kelleher at £30million, which would count as pure profit under PSR rules, which is an added incentive for the Reds.
