Caoimhin Kelleher has established himself as a reliable back-up to Alisson at Liverpool in recent years and after playing a big part in their Carabao Cup success last season, the club are seemingly desperate to keep hold of him for the significant future.
What's the word?
In a recent article for The Athletic, James Pearce shared the latest news on Kelleher and his future at Anfield, writing:
"Caoimhin Kelleher is developing into a fantastic goalkeeper. He will undoubtedly be a number one at the top level in the coming years but Liverpool want to hold on to him as long as possible because he’s a brilliant deputy for Alisson. It was a smart move by Klopp giving him the honour of starting the Carabao Cup final and that faith was rewarded.
"Kelleher is still only 23 so hopefully it will be another year at least before he moves on."
Supporters will be buzzing
Since signing for Liverpool from Ringmahon Rovers as a 16-year-old, Kelleher has gone on to make 17 appearances for the first team, in which he has conceded 20 goals and kept eight clean sheets.
The young shot-stopper caught the eye with his penalty heroics in Liverpool's Carabao Cup penalty shootout win against Arsenal in 2019 and has since established himself as Jurgen Klopp's regular cup goalkeeper.
Last season he was trusted to start in the final against Chelsea and certainly made his mark, scoring the winning penalty as the Reds won the competition for the first time since 2012.
Kelleher has already established himself as a full international for the Republic of Ireland, making eight caps, and at 23, it seems clear that he has a very bright future ahead of him.
While it is difficult to see him displacing the world-class Alisson any time soon, Klopp is clearly a huge fan of the youngster, dubbing him the best number two goalkeeper in the world, so he will clearly want to keep him at the club.
Kelleher is contracted at Anfield until 2026 so it will take a substantial bid to prise him away, and Liverpool fans will be hoping that he remains as their number two for the foreseeable, perhaps with the plan of him replacing Alisson at some point in the future.
Therefore, they will clearly be delighted to hear that Liverpool value him so highly and are hopeful of keeping him at the club for as long as possible.