'Phenomenal' Liverpool star gives Arne Slot headache amid £29m deal after Bournemouth showing

Caoimhin Kelleher’s star performance in the weekend win over Bournemouth has given Liverpool a headache regarding their future goalkeeper situation.

Hailed by former Premier League winner Chris Sutton, who called the Irishman ‘phenomenal’ on BBC 5 Live’s Monday Night Club. “He’s been phenomenal for one so young,” Sutton raved. “He’s not the only player doing well but blimey, the composure he has.

“Rory [Smith] spoke on an earlier show about Alisson being the best player in the Premier League this season. I’m not necessarily going to argue with that, but that tells you how big his gloves have been to fill but Kelleher’s done that brilliantly. All the young players have stepped up when they’ve needed to.”

And Kelleher was phenomenal. Making seven saves, he prevented 1.53 goals in total with five of those coming inside the box. The most eye-catching save coming in the second half as he somehow managed to claw one off the line after the ball bounced off Trent Alexander-Arnold from the crossbar, as the 25-year-old scrambled across acrobatically. He had originally come into the side due to Alisson Becker’s absence due to a hamstring injury and he could be set for a small run in the side with the EFL Cup clash on Wednesday and league clash with Wolves set for this week.

His future is up in the air despite his clear quality. Liverpool completed a deal for Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili in the summer for £29m and he will remain in Spain until the end of the season on loan. Coincidentally, the 23-year-old produced a similar display in La Liga over the weekend as Valencia beat Girona two-nil, with the Georgian named as the man of the match for his performance. After the game, he said; “It’s my job to make stops. I’m not the MVP, but the rest of the players with me. This year I will give the maximum I can for Valencia CF.”

It seems the most likely outcome is that Kelleher will exit in the summer to make way for the incoming keeper, while Alisson remains committed to the club as his deal doesn’t expire until 2027. Kelleher was the subject of a bid from Nottingham Forest in the window and he spoke out in the summer about his future. "I've made it clear in the last few years that I want to go and be a number one and play week in, week out," said Kelleher. "The club's made that decision to get another goalkeeper and from the outside looking in, it looks like they've made a decision to go in a different direction."

It is a unique situation as Kelleher has been an incredible servant for the club but his professionalism and commitment has to be commended. Alisson has shown frailties from a fitness standpoint across the past 18 moths and Kelleher will likely get plenty of opportunities this season to impress. However, it is likely to be his final year as Mamardashvili will arrive next summer as an exit looks inevitable. And yet he could still play an integral role to any trophy successes Liverpool may have this season.