Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher fits the bill for Celtic as they consider life after Joe Hart between the sticks.
Celtic need to bring in another goalkeeper in 2024 with a young stopper needed to come through and replace Joe Hart.
That is the view of former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner, who was speaking on BBC Sportsound, as quoted by the Daily Record.
Celtic faced Livingston on Saturday afternoon and whilst it was a 3-0 win for the Bhoys, they had to battle through with 10 men.
That’s because Hart was sent off in the first half having hacked down Mo Sangare on the edge of the Celtic box.
Scott Bain came on to serve as Celtic’s goalkeeper for the rest of the game, keeping a clean sheet in a convincing Celtic win.
Pat Bonner backs Caoimhin Kelleher for Celtic
Celtic legend Bonner had his say after the game, highlighting that the Bhoys really need to add another goalkeeper.
All three of Celtic’s senior goalkeepers – Hart, Bain and Benjamin Siegrist – are all in their 30’s and Hart isn’t really being challenged by Celtic’s other stoppers.
Bonner now feels that Celtic need a succession plan in place, especially after selling Conor Hazard to Plymouth Argyle over the summer.
The top name in Bonner’s mind is Liverpool stopper Kelleher having seen rumours of a potential move to Celtic.
Transfer insider Dean Jones told Give Me Sport earlier this month that Celtic want to make a deal for Kelleher happen in 2024.
Bonner thinks Kelleher would be the ‘ideal’ signing for Celtic but just isn’t sure whether Liverpool would let him go.
“They do need, I think, a young goalkeeper coming through the system,” said Bonner. “I don’t see it. They’ve gone with Scott Bain today. They’ve got Siegrist there who doesn’t seem to be pushing his way through to even become number two.”
“So that’s that’s a kind of a worry and they let Conor Hazard go down to England. I think that’s an area where they should have a number three really pushing through. A young guy.”
“There was talk about Kelleher coming up from Liverpool. I don’t know if Liverpool will let him go from that point of view. Because he fits their bill and that would have been an ideal situation to see. Could he come in and Joe Hart then might have to phase out and become a support goalkeeper to him. But at the moment I think he’s number one,” he added.
Celtic deal for Kelleher seems tricky
Kelleher is playing second fiddle to Alisson at Liverpool and certainly needs more first-team action going forward.
The 24-year-old surely wouldn’t pick a move to Celtic if he was told to sit behind Hart for a while, as Bonner suggests.
Kelleher would need a promise of immediate action and that’s before even talking about the transfer fee.
The Daily Mail reported over the summer that Liverpool wanted around £15million to sign Kelleher.
It’s incredibly hard to imagine that Celtic would be paying that kind of money for anybody, never mind a goalkeeper when they already have three.
Kelleher is an impressive goalkeeper, hailed as ‘outstanding’ by Jurgen Klopp, and he may well be tempted to leave Liverpool in 2024 – but a move to Celtic would be a shock.
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