Is Caoimhín Kelleher too good to be a backup at Liverpool?

LIVERPOOL, England — In the clubhouse at Ringmahon Rangers, on the banks of Cork’s Loch Mahon, two items take pride of place on the wall. The first is a signed shirt belonging to Ringmahon alumnus and Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher. Hanging alongside it is a handwritten letter from former Reds boss Jürgen Klopp, who reached out to the club after the Republic of Ireland international — while wearing the shirt in question — scored the winning penalty for Liverpool against Chelsea in the 2022 Carabao Cup final.

“To everyone at Ringmahon Rangers,” it reads. “Thank you for sending us Caoimhín. He’s done you proud.”

To be rated so highly by one of the most influential managers in the modern game is a fine endorsement. For Kelleher, such praise has simply become par for the course on his journey to becoming, in the eyes of Klopp at least, “the best No. 2” in world football.

“He was always one step ahead of the striker”

Kelleher was never meant to be a goalkeeper. Up until the age of 13, he played for Ringmahon Rangers and for his county as a striker, only dropping back between the sticks when his team’s usual shot-stopper quit the team.

“The under-14s had no goalkeeper for the first game of the season so Caoimhín’s father said to the manager: ‘Throw Caoimhín in goal. He practices there a lot,'” Ringmahon Rangers club secretary Seán Fitzgerald tells ESPN. “The rest is history. He was fantastic up front, he always had a great attitude, there was always something there, even when he was a striker. But when he went in goal, you could see there was something special.

“He had the instincts, having been a striker himself. He always seemed to know what the striker was going to do. You see him now, he’s so calm and composed. He was always one step ahead of the striker all the time.”

Kelleher had only been playing in goal for three years when Liverpool moved to sign him to their academy in the summer of 2015. Though Klopp would later recall his first assessment of the youngster as being a “skinny boy from Ireland, standing in a big goal,” he made his competitive debut for the club in September 2019, keeping a clean sheet against MK Dons to help Liverpool progress to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

By December 2020, he had overtaken former West Ham goalkeeper Adrián as the club’s second choice behind Alisson and, six months later, he signed a new long-term contract until the summer of 2026.

It was in the 2022 Carabao Cup final, though, that Kelleher really made his name, making a string of impressive saves in normal time before slotting the winning penalty past Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga in the shootout.

“It’s quite a journey from when I saw him the first time, from the boy I saw the first time to the man he is today,” Klopp said after that game at Wembley. “I saw from the first second that he is an incredible talent. Alisson Becker is the best goalie in the world, for me. There are goalies out there, but this goalie is absolutely insane. But to be 100% honest, for me Caoimhín Kelleher is the best No.2 in the world as well, especially for the way we play.”

It is a moniker that has stuck, though one that has perhaps been more of a hindrance than a help for Kelleher in recent years. “It’s probably not a tag I want,” he told talkSPORT Daily back in October. “I want to be playing week in, week out, and be that No. 1.”

The question for him and for Liverpool is can he fulfil that ambition at Anfield?

“He is a superstar in his own right”

It does feel slightly disingenuous to brand Kelleher a “backup” goalkeeper, considering his tally of 28 Liverpool appearances in 2024 is greater than Alisson’s 20. When the Brazil international sustained a hamstring injury in early February, Kelleher deputised admirably in his absence, with Liverpool going eight Premier League games unbeaten during his stint as No.1.

In the same period, Kelleher also helped the club to another Carabao Cup win over Chelsea and his display at Wembley earned him plenty of plaudits, including from former Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

“Some of his saves throughout the game, to keep Liverpool in it, were phenomenal,” Begovic told the Football Daily podcast. “He’s shown his qualities in the last two or three seasons whenever he’s had a chance to play. Their other goalkeeper [Alisson] is one of the best in the world so those opportunities don’t come around as much as he’d like, but he’s played a massive part.”

It was little wonder, then, that Kelleher attracted transfer interest over the summer. Nottingham Forest submitted a bid of £7 million plus United States goalkeeper Matt Turner, but the offer was quickly rebuffed by Liverpool as it fell way short of their £30m valuation.

While it seemed a sensible decision, the club’s £25m capture of highly rated Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia — viewed internally as an opportunistic signing following the 24-year-old’s impressive displays at Euro 2024 — appeared to suggest Kelleher was not part of new head coach Arne Slot’s long-term plans. And while Mamardashvili was sent back to Valencia on loan for the season, Kelleher voiced his frustration at the situation while away on international duty in September.

“I’ve made it clear in the last few years that I want to go and be a No.1 and play week in, week out,” he said in a news conference. “The club has 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. Sometimes from the outside looking in, it looks like that’s 100% my decision [not to move elsewhere] but at times it’s not always in my hands. It’s been reported that Liverpool have rejected a few bids as well. My ambition is clear that I think I’m good enough and I want to go out and prove it.”

It is a testament to Kelleher’s character, though, that his conduct has remained exemplary, even in spite of his desire to be playing more regularly. Liverpool’s reluctance to part with him, meanwhile, was quickly vindicated when Alisson picked up a thigh injury that kept him out of the Reds’ win over Bournemouth in September, before he suffered a more serious hamstring injury against Crystal Palace in October.

The Brazilian was sidelined for nine weeks, opening the door for Kelleher to once again showcase his talents. The Irishman didn’t disappoint, helping Liverpool to eight wins and two draws in 10 appearances in all competitions. Amid a string of impressive performances, Kelleher’s showing against Real Madrid in the Champions League — in which he denied Kylian Mbappé from the penalty spot to help his team to a 2-0 win — perhaps best epitomised his brilliance.

“Kelleher is doing fantastic,” former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman said during co-commentary for TNT Sports. “Every time he is called upon, he stands up. He is an absolute superstar in his own right. He is not a No. 2. He is an equal No. 1. He is fantastic.”

The numbers certainly back up McManaman’s assertion. Kelleher has made more saves per game (3) than Alisson (2.5) in the Premier League this season, although the Brazilian’s save percentage of 80% betters his understudy’s 71%.

Having scarcely put a foot wrong during his prolonged run in the team, Kelleher’s late error in Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Newcastle United proved costly, and the subsequent postponement of the Merseyside derby due to Storm Darragh — coupled with Alisson’s return from injury against Girona last week — denied him the chance to immediately redeem himself.

Despite having heaped praise on Kelleher in recent weeks, Slot was quick to express his elation at having his No.1 back available after his team’s narrow victory in Catalonia, during which Alisson made a number of fine saves to secure Liverpool’s fifth clean sheet in six European games.

“He showed again today why I said so many times that he’s our first goalkeeper,” Slot said of the Brazilian, who is under contract until 2027. “That has nothing to do with Caoimhín — he did so, so well. But Alisson has been so important for this club for so many years, for his country as well. [He] showed today that he’s probably one of the best, in my opinion the best goalkeeper in the world. And let’s hope he can keep continuing to bring these performances. Let’s hope even more that he can stay fit.”

An Anfield farewell on the horizon?

With the January transfer window set to open, speculation over Kelleher’s future is to be expected, though it is highly unlikely Liverpool would sanction his exit at a time when they harbour ambitions of winning both the Premier League and Champions League.

Alisson’s injury record is such that Slot’s side can ill afford to part with their second-choice goalkeeper, even though third-choice Vítězslav Jaroš — a fully-fledged Czechia international — has impressed in his two appearances for the club this season. Next summer, however, will be a different proposition. Alisson admitted in August that he had turned down a summer move to Saudi Arabia and, while interest is likely to persist, the Brazilian has previously stated a desire to honour his Liverpool contract.

“I am really happy here,” he said in an interview with British media outlets. “My family is happy. I never got to the point [with Saudi] where I was talking about wages and things like this. It was just interest, but when you hear about the numbers the other players are getting you are a little bit attracted. That is normal.”

Providing Alisson stays true to his word, the arrival of Mamardashvili would likely see Kelleher relegated to third choice, surely spelling the end of his 10-year career at Anfield. While the 26-year-old has picked up plenty of minutes this season, he has still only played a total of 55 competitive matches for Liverpool — a relatively nominal number considering his age.

By comparison, Alisson had already clocked up close to 200 senior club appearances by the time he was 26, so the need for Kelleher to step out of the Brazilian’s imperious shadow is becoming increasingly glaring. For now, though, Kelleher’s focus will be on Southampton, who host Liverpool in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Slot confirmed in his prematch news conference that the goalkeeper will start in place of Alisson, with the Dutchman going on to give an honest appraisal of Kelleher’s current situation.

“It is one of the most difficult jobs in football,” Slot said when asked by ESPN how the Irishman has dealt with losing his place in the team. “If the first goalkeeper is always available, because you work for the whole season and you hardly ever have the chance to play because you don’t normally come in 15 minutes before the end. Unfortunately for us but not for him, he’s already made quite a lot of minutes.

“If you look at a list of players, there will be players who have had far less playing time than him so I think he can look back on the first half of the season for himself as a positive. We as a club of course hope that all players are available in the second half of the season so we hope that he will not make the same amount of minutes that he did in the first half. But we’re really fortunate to have a great second-choice goalkeeper so if we need him he’s able to do as well as he did.”

While Kelleher’s future remains uncertain, Wednesday will at least provide another chance for the goalkeeper to prove his worth. And, back home in Cork, his family, friends and former teammates at Ringmahon Rangers will be watching on with pride.

“It’s fantastic,” Fitzgerald says. “Everyone who worked with him during his time here is so proud. We’re all volunteers at the end of the day, so for all of the coaches, there’s this immense sense of pride because they can say ‘I was this fella’s manager and now he’s playing for one of the best teams in the world and he’s No. 1 for his country.’

“It’s fantastic for the children as well to see a local lad go and achieve what he has. Even when opposing teams come down and play here, they all want to see Caoimhín’s jersey in the clubhouse. He’s done us all so proud.”