I don't think he was ever going in January anyway. Once he didn't go in the summer he was always staying at least one more season until the Georgian comes in. He should be able to move on next summer, though there is a risk that Alisson might go to Asia next summer and Liverpool decide to keep Kelleher as number 2 to the new keeper for one more year rather than accepting a reduced fee for him with only a year left on his contract.
Hopefully Kelleher stays fit for all of this opportunity.
Comfortable day for him ,didn’t have an awful lot to do but did it without much fuss ….
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
Played well again this evening, made a couple of good saves and was good with his passing, one hairy moment in the first half aside couldn't fault him.....
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
Man of the match on whoscored FWIW - not sure who they gave it to at the game?
That well known measure of football performance, Twitter / X, was full of praise for him. BT's pundits singled him out. Fans seem to think that wherever he goes to it should be a CL level team.
Uefa.com gave it to Ederson
https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsle...nta-vs-celtic/
That was for the Celtic game, Tsimikas got it for the Liverpool game. But to have two Irish players in two different Champions League matches contending for POTM on the same night counts as progress I'd say.
sorry, total brainfart on my part there. Here's the Liverpool game: https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsle...-vs-liverpool/
I presume the fact it’s a completely new football operation has something to do with it,Richard Hughes might have been tracking the Georgian fella for a long time and before Kelleher had really a chance to impress the new coaches the signing might have been agreed,a real shame though because Allison looks like he might be gone sooner than expected if his injury problems persist……
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
I'd say it's more Kelleher doesn't fancy waiting around anymore until Alisson finally leaves.
It sounds like Alisson might see out his Liverpool contract which has just over 2.5 years to run. Might end up signing a new contract also. Third highest player at the club supposedly so don't think he'd be that tempted by Saudi.
Allison did an interview recently saying he wants to see out his contract at the very least. Which is till 2026 with a club option for 2027, so presumably till 2027.
It could as easily have been: Alisson is staying 3 years and maybe more. Kelleher has 2 years left on his contract and if he’s not happy on the bench, he won’t renew, so try cash in on him this summer or next. So given Allison’s injury history, then you look for another elite replacement and you get a deal done for Mamardashvili to come in 12 months. And you plan to sell Kelleher, take in £20-35m depending on how he looks this season and if you can include a buyback clause…
They didn’t particularly convey that to Kelleher, so maybe it’s just Richard Hughes didn’t realise how good he was and all of the coaching staff etc turned over, so there was no one advocating for Kelleher - but seems weird when he played 26 games for Liverpool last season.
Wonder if we'll see Kelleher stay at Liverpool next season and leave on a free when his contract is up. They wanted £25M during the summer and I don't see that price coming down.
Kelleher's options are gonna be slim if Liverpool keeps insisting on such a high price given his lack of experience and only having one year left on his contract.
i don't really get it. in the premier league alone, there's so many sides who would be improved with Kelleher starting for them. Most high profile would be Chelsea - he's a mile ahead of Sanchez - but really there's only about 5 premier league keepers who are definitely ahead of him. you'd imagine there are other teams across europe, in spain, italy, france and germany who are desperate to add a really good keeper. plus, there's always a churn - for arguments sake, Juventus are looking for a keeper, they take a look at Kelleher but sign Vicario from Spurs. Spurs now need a keeper and they look at Kelleher, but let's say they with their potential Saudi investors, they sign Martinez from Villa who need the money to sell. Villa look at Kelleher, but they sign Brighton's Verbruggen etc etc etc.
So in the end, you've probably got a dozen clubs in Europe actively looking for a keeper as good as Kelleher - can't see why it hasn't happened, why someone hasn't bitten the bullet and bought Kelleher... You only have to watch the 26 games he started last season to see the level he's at...
I think his standing has maybe changed now, while he was good last season there was still a concern over his shot stopping and whether it was at the level required. Different story now though, he's stepped up to another level. I think Liverpool will need to keep him in January but if he keeps his current form up until next summer he'll be moving on for sure.
I can't explain the mentality but the pattern has always been more conservative with goalkeepers and centre backs due to the risk involved while they are developing. A developing striker may miss clear chances, a developing keeper could cost you the game.
In saying that, Kelleher is far past the point of "developing", and when you see keepers like Trafford getting a chance as a number one in the league and he still hasn't it makes you scratch your head.
In saying that Emi Martinez first gig as a number 1 is with Aston Villa, and he got that just before he turned 28. So Kelleher may yet have a stellar premier league career. But for me, personally, I'd like to see him go elsewhere and make his name on the continent. An Irish goalkeeper at Juventus sounds nice to me!
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