Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher feels that up to six signings may be needed at Anfield during Arne Slot’s second summer in charge of the soon-to-be-crowned Premier League champions.
In an ideal world, Carragher wants Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike signed. The Bournemouth flyer to act as a replacement for Andy Robertson – a man ten years his senior and increasingly error-prone – and Frankfurt hitman Ekitike to fill a number nine void in Slot’s otherwise lethal frontline.
The 2005 Champions League winner feels Liverpool would also benefit from adding another centre-back, a left-winger and a goalscoring midfielder to their ranks.
The sixth transfer on Carragher’s summer to-do list, meanwhile, may be a new goalkeeper to take the place of Caoimhin Kelleher.
After another season playing second fiddle to Alisson Becker, a now-26-year-old Kelleher is likely to head into the summer searching for a club capable of offering him the sort of regular weekly action unavailable at Anfield.
If the Republic of Ireland international was to stay on beyond the Alisson era, he would have Giorgi Mamardashvili to contend with, of course.
And while Jurgen Klopp felt Liverpool had the best number two goalkeeper across the whole of planet earth, that is not a tag Kelleher will be keen to retain as he approaches what should be the peak years of his shot-stopping career.
Berke Ozer linked with Liverpool as Caoimhin Kelleher replacement
Amid links with Bournemouth, Carragher wonders if Kelleher could go to the Vitality Stadium as part of the deal which brings Milos Kerkez in the other direction. Liverpool are also in talks with Dean Huijsen while Antoine Semenyo has admirers at Anfield too.
As for potential replacements, Liverpool have been linked with Berke Ozer. The highly-rated Eyupspor goalkeeper is valued at around £10 million, according to Fanatik.
A decent fee for a player likely to spend much of his time at Anfield on the bench. At just 24 and playing not for one of the established Turkish giants, the chance to represent the Premier League champions – albeit in a supporting role – is one that will surely appeal to young Ozer.
Legendary Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Demirel, however, has his doubts.
Could Ozer be another Simon Mignolet situation at Anfield?
Speaking to Miligazete, Demirel wonders if Ozer’s talismanic performances at Eyupspor could be translated into a side like Liverpool who tend to give up far fewer opportunities. While Eyupspor are surprisingly sitting fourth in the Super Lig table, Ozer has still faced more shots and made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the league.
He boasts the best save percentage [79] too.
“Berke is a very good goalkeeper,” Demirel begins. “He has won at least 20 points for Eyupspor. [But] Berke needs to have a ‘hot hand’. He needs to make a lot of saves. When he makes a lot of saves, his goalkeeper qualities come out.
“But, if you put Berke in a big team, if he makes two or three saves [per match], he might not be able to receive them as he did in a very busy match.”
Comparisons may be drawn, then, with former Liverpool glovesman Simon Mignolet.
Mignolet was often Sunderland’s saviour in their annual battle against the drop. But after joining The Reds in an £11 million deal back in 2023, the Belgian endured a baptism of fire with a number of avoidable errors in an environment where concentration was perhaps the most important attribute.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
