Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool have an ‘exceptional player’ in Caoimhin Kelleher. The young goalkeeper will work under new coach Claudio Taffarel.
Claudio Taffarel is officially a new coach at Liverpool. The legendary goalkeeper – who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994 – received his work permit and joins the setup at Kirkby.
He’ll work alongside John Achterberg and Jack Robinson with the goalkeepers at the club.
The link with Alisson is obvious, of course, given Taffarel currently holds the same position with the Brazilian national team. But Liverpool’s no.1 isn’t the only player Jurgen Klopp hopes to benefit with this move.
“In terms of goalkeepers, it means we have Alisson Becker, who for us is the best goalie in the world,” said Klopp, per Liverpoolfc.com. “We have Caoimhin Kelleher, who we really think is an exceptional, exceptional player.
“We have Adrian, who has shown his qualities since he arrived here. Then we have Marcelo Pitaluga, then we have Harvey Davies, so we have five goalies in different age groups, which is great but we want to have even more of these guys.”
Klopp hails Kelleher
It’s wonderful to hear that Kelleher is so well regarded at Liverpool. The 23-year-old is right on the brink of first-team level, putting in a series of excellent performances when called upon.
Kelleher is something of a fan-favourite, in fact – an unusual position for a backup goalkeeper. But it’s pretty clear to everyone watching that he’s got talent.
And Liverpool believe that talent is ‘exceptional’, it seems. They’ll hope that Taffarel’s experience and coaching style can unlock another level in him.
It doesn’t fix his biggest problem, admittedly – Alisson. The Brazilian only just turned 29 and there’s a sense that he’ll hold down the no.1 spot for years to come.
Will Kelleher get his chance anytime soon, then? It looks unlikely. But who knows? Perhaps this coaching change leads to an explosion in his ability.
At the very least, Klopp’s words make it sounds possible.
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