Liverpool's summer transfer business saw Caoimhin Kelleher leave the club, with former goalkeeper now receiving plenty of praise from a former Premier League star.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
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After a difficult start to the season, Liverpool have been scrutinised extensively in an attempt to find out the root cause of their dramatic turn in form.
Quickly turning from Premier League champions into a side that is chaotic in nature has raised plenty of eyebrows, not least at the summer transfer business they conducted. A record summer of signings for Liverpool saw them move aggressively to land the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, though both are still easing their way into life at the club.
While some believe that may have upset the balance for Arne Slot, there are also questions over the players the Reds allowed to leave over the summer. Included in that group of stars is Caoimhin Kelleher, who joined Brentford for a fee worth roughly £18m, while Giorgi Mamardashvili made his long-awaited move to Anfield from Valencia.
It's a switch that may well have been costly for Liverpool, with Alisson Becker's injury woes resulting in Mamardashvili being thrown straight into action. While that is the case, Liverpool may well be missing the calm and measured presence of Kelleher as their back-up, which has only been further proven by former Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster.
When speaking to TalkSPORT, Foster named Kelleher in his top five goalkeepers in the Premier League, alongside Alisson, Aston Villa's Emi Martinez, Arsenal's David Raya and Manchester City's Gianluigi Donnarumma. The ex-shot-stopper was full of praise when pressed on picking Kelleher in his top five.
He said: "He's [Caoimhin Kelleher] been phenomenal this season. I think what he's been exposed to at Liverpool, because he played quite a few games at Liverpool. Don't forget, Alisson had quite a few spells where he's been out injured. I think the way he handled himself at Liverpool, for one, was phenomenal, absolutely brilliant performances, really calm and measured.
"But I think that comes off the back of one, obviously his character, I think that's just how he is as a person anyway, but secondly, just being surrounded by Alisson as the number one goalkeeper, getting to watch that week in, week out. Because if you watch him play, Alisson, he is the personification of calmness under pressure. Any moment, you know that he's in full control of everything he's doing.
"I think Caoimhin's had this chance to be able to really watch him and learn from the best in that position. It kind of reminds me a little bit of my time when I was at Man United with Edwin van der Sar, same sort of thing. I didn't make it at Man United at the time, one, because I had Van der Sar in front of me where you just think, 'My gosh, you're so good, honestly, you're so, so good.'
"He's in control of everything, he's so calm, but when I did leave Man United, I was so well-equipped to deal with the rest of my career, it set me up for the rest of my career, and I think that's the same thing that's happened with Caoimhin."
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher playing for Brentford
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher playing for Brentford
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It's that type of calm manner that Liverpool have been missing at times this season, with games getting particularly stretched with opportunities at either end. While the problems may well run deeper than just having that calm and assured presence in goal, it's something that may help when Alisson is back to full fitness.
Kelleher has made 11 appearances for Brentford since joining the club in the summer, all of which have come in the Premier League. The Republic of Ireland international has kept two clean sheets, conceding 17 goals in that time, with the Bees starting to find some form in recent weeks.
Foster isn't the only former goalkeeper to be full of praise for the way Kelleher conducts himself, however. Shay Given also chimed in on the conversation when speaking to The Times, as he said: "The good thing about Caoimhin is that he never gets too hard on himself when he does make a mistake or carried away when he saves a penalty, like he did against Ronaldo in the last game.
“He is still so calm and level-headed," he added. It's a trait that Liverpool had at their disposal for some time, as the 26-year-old helped them win plenty of trophies in his time at the club.
Now he is doing so for Brentford and the Republic of Ireland, the latter of which he helped secure a World Cup 2026 play-off spot with over the November international break. The sale could be something the Reds go on to regret, as his desire for more game time has seen him continue to impress.
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