Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher. | AFP via Getty Images
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher could be on his way out of the club.
The Republic of Ireland international is keen for regular first-team football and may have played his final game for the Reds in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final. Kelleher is Liverpool’s 'club keeper' and the team have already been eliminated from both the FA Cup and Champions League.
Several clubs, including Chelsea, Tottenham, and Carabao Cup winners Newcastle, are interested in signing him. However, Bournemouth are leading the race - or so claim the Sun - with manager Andoni Iraola making a new goalkeeper his top priority. Kelleher is his main target.
Iraola has relied on Kepa Arrizabalaga for much of the season, but Chelsea’s loan deal does not include a purchase option, and Kepa’s performances have been inconsistent at best. Earlier in the season, Iraola even benched him in favor of Mark Travers, another Irish goalkeeper now on loan at Middlesbrough. The Bournemouth boss reportedly sees Kelleher as an upgrade and has urged the club to act quickly when the summer transfer window opens in June.
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher. | AFP via Getty Images
Chelsea have also shown interest but are not ready to commit to a bid. Manager Enzo Maresca already has Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen on his books, although the club’s defensive prowess has been through peaks and troughs all season.
Meanwhile, Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has rotated between Guglielmo Vicario, Fraser Forster, and Antonin Kinsky this season.
Bournemouth could potentially offer Kelleher European football, as they currently sit ninth in the Premier League, but that is not a decisive factor for the 26-year-old. He has made 17 appearances this season but has been limited to cup competitions since Alisson Becker returned from injury in December.
Liverpool will apparently not block his exit either. His replacement is already lined up, with Georgian international Georgi Mamardashvili set to join from Valencia at the end of the season.