Former Liverpool ‘keeper recalls how the club went above and beyond to seal his record-breaking deal

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Injuries have ruined many a promising career and Chris Kirkland’s is no different. Yet, things looked so positive for the youngster back in 2001.

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has recalled to Fantasy Football Club the extra lengths Gerard Houllier went to convince him to depart his local club for Anfield in 2001.

The then 20-year-old shot stopper became the most expensive goalkeeper in English football history when he swapped Coventry City for Liverpool on transfer deadline day for £4.85 million, according to The Guardian.

Kirkland arrived at Anfield on the same day as Jerzy Dudek but, while the latter etched his name into Liverpool folklore by saving Andriy Shevchenko’s penalty in the 2005 Champions League final (below), a succession of injuries limited the talented Englishman to just 25 Premier League appearances in four years on Merseyside.

However, Kirkland retains a special affection for Houllier after the former Liverpool manager went above and beyond to sign him up despite playing just 29 professional games.

“The deadline was ticking and it was quite late so I was thinking ‘it’s not going to happen now’,” the once-capped goalkeeper said on Sky Sports’ Fantasy Football Club.

“And then Gordon Strachan said ‘we’ve had a bid from Liverpool and we’ve accepted it, what do you want to do’?

“I was panicking, I was thinking ‘oh my God, I don’t want to leave, I’m happy here’. I lived ten minutes away, I’ve always loved being at home.

“But we travelled up [to Anfield] and I’d never seen anything like it. Gerard Houllier (below, left) picked me up from the airport with Phil Thompson, so the day after I signed.”

Kirkland endured a nomadic career after departing Liverpool in 2005 and is currently without a club after departing Bury just weeks after joining for personal reasons.