‘What the club should be about’: Liverpool coach loved ‘amazing’ move from Klopp earlier this year

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One Liverpool coach hails Jurgen Klopp for how he used Caoimhín Kelleher in 2022. The goalkeeper has had a breakout year.

Caoimhín Kelleher went into 2022 with a decent reputation at Liverpool. They trusted him in some games and saw him as one for the future. That reputation didn’t really extend outside of Anfield but that all changed this year.

Kelleher is now acclaimed as an outstanding no.2 and while he’s unlikely to shift Alisson anytime soon, he has a standing in the game. The EFL Cup final essentially fixed that.

Jurgen Klopp chose the Irishman throughout the competition and then stuck with him in the final against Chelsea. Few would have complained if Alisson had played but the Liverpool boss stuck with his trust in Kelleher.

He then proved to be the hero, of course, scoring and saving in the penalty shoot-out to win the cup. As the year comes to a close, Academy manager, Alex Inglethorpe looks back and applauds Klopp.

“The manager has shown incredible faith in the players to put them out in pivotal games,” he told the Liverpool Echo. “Last season epitomised that by starting Caoimhin in the Carabao Cup final.

“An awful lot of other managers might have said ‘thanks for getting us to this point, now Alisson is playing’, but it was an amazing nod to not only the Academy and Caoimhin but also to what the club should be about.”

Caoimhín Kelleher in 2022

So where does Kelleher go from here? That’s the big question facing him and Liverpool. He’s quite clearly good enough to play in big games and his Premier League quality is unquestionable.

In fact, he looks like a solid goalkeeper in the Champions League, too.

Alisson, though, could be Liverpool’s no.1 for another five or six years. It’s difficult to predict how goalkeepers age but he certainly shows zero signs of slowing down.

Is that soon enough for Kelleher? Probably not, honestly. He’s now 24 and won’t want to wait around on the bench for much longer. Liverpool will need to make a tough decision, potentially next summer.