The Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle may be the final outing for a faultless star in a Liverpool shirt, with a summer exit now fully expected.
Liverpool produced one of their worst performances of the season when it mattered most on Sunday. Newcastle outfought and outthought the Reds in every department, with Eddie Howe’s side running out deserved winners in normal time.
Reserve goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher, was recalled to the starting line-up, with the Irishman emerging as Liverpool’s regular cup keeper over the past three seasons.
The 26-year-old has also deputised expertly for Alisson Becker during the Brazilian’s occasional injury absences too and has established himself as one of the league’s finest stoppers – even if he isn’t a regular starter.
However, Kelleher’s future is set to lay away from Anfield, with Alisson remaining arguably the world’s No 1 keeper and Giorgi Mamardashvili arriving from Valencia in the summer.
As such, Kelleher’s outing at Wembley may prove to be his final appearance for Liverpool who are out of the FA Cup and Champions League.
Barring an injury to Alisson or a surprise selection decision from Arne Slot, Kelleher is unlikely to feature in Liverpool’s nine remaining Premier League matches.
And if the Newcastle loss does prove to be Kelleher’s last stand, he’s certainly not going out on the high note he deserves.
“It’s very disappointing,” Kelleher told Liverpool’s club media after the 2-1 defeat. “It’s a tough one to take for all the lads.
“To be fair to Newcastle, I thought they deserved it, so fair play to them. We’re bitterly disappointed.
“It’s tough to take, obviously. I think we know ourselves we could perform better than that, which is probably that bit extra hard to take.
“To be fair to the lads, they gave everything, ran as hard as we could, but we just came up a bit short.”
The stopper added: “It’s been a tough week for us but maybe the internationals come at a good time for us now to get away and just clear our heads and come back refreshed and ready to go in two weeks.
“Big things to play for when we get back, so we’ll be ready to go.”
Right place wrong time for Caoimhin Kelleher
Alisson is contracted to Liverpool until 2027 and should remain the club’s No 1 when Mamardashvili arrives.
Liverpool will have a decision to make on Mamardashvili and whether the Georgian is willing to accept a short-term bench role will be key.
An alternative is loaning the keeper out for the 2025/26 season and kicking a selection decision down the road.
In any case, what is clear is Kelleher’s future lays away from Anfield, with the Irishman primed to enter the final year of his contract.
Kelleher has already proven he’s more than good enough to start at most Premier League sides and is a highly valuable asset.
Given Mamardashvili is on the way, the expectation is Liverpool will listen to offers for Kelleher at season’s end to ensure he doesn’t leave for free 12 months later.
Adding further fuel to the exit fire are Kelleher’s past claims he’s not satisfied with being a back-up.
Speaking in late-2024, Kelleher said: “I was quite clear [last summer] that I wanted to play first-team football, whether that was here or elsewhere. I wanted to be a No 1.
“That was my thought process – but it’s always been my thought process because obviously I am a football player and, like every player, I want to play. I’m not going to enjoy myself or be happy sitting on the bench.
“When I was coming through the academy to work my way up, obviously when you first get into the No 2 position you’re happy and it’s progress. I think with anything after a while, maybe after doing a few seasons of a similar thing, you want to keep pushing forward and keep going to the next level.
“I’ve played a lot of games now as well and shown my level. The next step for me is to be playing week in, week out and every week.”
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