Jurgen Klopp has said that Liverpool won’t look to sell Caoimhin Kelleher.
The manager made the comments during his pre-Norwich City press conference via Football Daily on Twitter.
Whilst also stating the need for Liverpool to have a ‘strong number two’, Klopp confirmed that Kelleher isn’t up for sale.
“There’s absolutely no intention to sell him or give him a loan, not at all,” said Klopp.
“Because we need a strong number two. He is here on a long-term contract and we have a long-term plan with him. Of course we want to help the boy as well to become the best version of himself. That’s what we did so far, that’s what we will do.”
That’s great to hear for Liverpool fans who may have been concerned that Kelleher’s displays may lead to interest from elsewhere.
The Irishman looks like a proper goalkeeper. There’s no need to rush his development though and he can learn so much from working with Alisson Becker, as well as Klopp – who recently called him ‘top-class’ via Liverpool FC official YouTube channel (9mins).
A specialist position
The back-up goalkeeper position is one of the hardest to get right within a squad of footballers.
At a club like Liverpool, there’s always likely to be a settled number one. That’s clearly the case for The Reds at the moment. There’s not a goalkeeper on the planet who can convincingly claim to be better than Alisson Becker.
That obviously means that the back-up is going to be exactly that, a back-up.
Klopp has tampered with going in another direction during his reign at Liverpool.
From Loris Karius’ arrival in 2016, to Alisson joining two years later, the manager often swapped between Karius and Simon Mignolet as his first choice between the sticks.
Without a clear frontrunner, Liverpool looked calamitous at times defensively.
It’s therefore important to find a very specific type of goalkeeper. One who is good enough to ensure that progress can be made in domestic cup competitions, whilst also clearly being a step behind the first-choice.
In that respect, Kelleher is perfect for the role. At 23-years-old, he is still young enough to accept a situation where he learns his trade with sporadic appearances.
If the Irishman is happy with that long-term, brilliant. If he isn’t then Liverpool’s best bet looks to be to develop another young player who can step into his boots.
School of goalkeepers
In January, Liverpool head goalkeeping coach John Achterberg told The Athletic that the club want to become a ‘goalkeeping school in world football.”
It is obviously an area of the club where Klopp and his staff have seen room for improvement.
With young goalies like Marcelo Pitaluga, Vitezslav Jaros and Harvey Davies courting excitement, Liverpool look well stocked to heed Klopp’s words.
There has been a raft of top ‘keepers to play for the club over the decades. But it has been rare to see one come through the academy ranks.
Kelleher has bucked that trend. The leaps he has made since joining the club as a 16-year-old have been frighteningly big.
If he continues improving at the same rate, he’s going to be a heck of goalkeeper for years to come.
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