Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg has told Sunday World that Caoimhin Kelleher needs a loan move – but may not get one.
Kelleher, 21, joined Liverpool from Ringmahon Rangers in Cork back in 2015, and has been attempting to make the grade at Anfield.
The Irishman has managed just four first-team appearances for Liverpool, all of which came last season.
Three of them came in the Carabao Cup, including against Arsenal at Anfield, with Jurgen Klopp branding him a ‘sensational talent’ after his performance against MK Dons.
It’s hard to see how Kelleher will get his big break at Liverpool though, given that Alisson is the clear first-choice goalkeeper and should be for a long time yet.
Adrian’s dismal showing at Aston Villa may give Kelleher hope of pushing to become second-choice, though he now has new competition following the signing of Brazilian stopper Marcelo Pitaluga.
Now, goalkeeping coach Achterberg has admitted that a loan move would be ideal for Kelleher, but Liverpool need three first-team goalkeepers and can’t leave themselves short, so he has to stay.
Achterberg noted that Kelleher can learn plenty just from training with Alisson, and added that Klopp has faith in him, even hinting that an opportunity could be just around the corner.
“He would like to play games and obviously that would be easier if he went out on loan, but the problem for us is we need three good goalies and he is one of our three,” said Achterberg. “For his development, a loan move would be his next step, but the club have to make sure they have everything covered in case we have a problem with our keepers and we know it would be hard to find a keeper as good as him if we let him go out on loan.”
“It’s not the ideal solution for him and maybe playing matches would be what he needs now, but he is training with top players every day at Liverpool, playing in our under-23 games and that will allow him to continue to progress. Working with someone as good as Alison every day for the last couple of years can only help him. He sets such high standards in everything he does and you can only learn from working with someone like that.”
“The higher level you train at every day allows you to take your career up to the next level, but it would be the best solution for him to have a spell on loan at some point. What I would say is we would have no issue putting him into a game and I know the manager has faith in him as well. This manager shows great interest in everyone in his squad. He appreciates that you need a big squad to win anything and it might be that we need to play our third-choice keeper in a big game at some point,” he added.
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