A faultless Liverpool star is ‘not willing’ to extend his contract at Anfield and despite interest from Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle, a lower-profile Premier League side are in ‘pole position’ to seal a deal at their manager’s behest.
A monumental transfer window is on the horizon at Liverpool, with plenty of arrivals and exits on the cards. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are all still to sign new deals and for the time being, are on course to leave via free agency.
Darwin Nunez is expected to be sold, while there are concrete possibilities for Luis Diaz and Diogo Jots to leave too.
Elsewhere, back-up goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher, is almost certain to depart through no fault of his own.
The Irish international is arguably the finest No 2 in the league, though is in the unenviable position of playing second fiddle to Alisson Becker.
As such, Kelleher has been forced to settle for outings in the cup competitions and deputusing for Alisson during his occasional injury absences.
But with Kelleher out of contract in the summer, Giorgi Mamardashvili arriving from Valencia and Kelleher increasingly unhappy with a squad role, an exit for the 26-year-old now seems inevitable.
According to the latest from talkSPORT, Liverpool value Kelleher at a hefty £30m. That’s despite the fact he’ll only have 12 months left on his contract come the summer.
The Reds believe they stand a decent chance of recouping their target fee given the mounting interest in the player and his numerous faultless displays over recent seasons.
Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle are all reportedly keeping tabs on the situation, though a surprise frontrunner has emerged.
It’s claimed Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth are in ‘pole position’ to snap up the Irishman and the Cherries are desperate to beat the higher profile clubs to his signature by moving ‘as soon as the window reopens in June.’
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Iraola driving Bournemouth’s Kelleher plan
Bournemouth’s current starting stopper is Kepa Arrizabalaga who has performed well during his loan spell.
However, Kepa’s deal does not contain an option or obligation to buy. As such, he’ll return to Chelsea at season’s end, at which point Iraola will demand his side sign Kelleher.
talkSPORT claimed the Cherries boss is a driving force behind Bournemouth’s pursuit of Kelleher. Encouragingly for Iraola, it was also claimed Kelleher is ‘not willing’ to sign a new deal at Liverpool.
As such, a deal is there to be made, with all eyes on how big of a bid Bournemouth table.
One factor that could enhance Bournemouth’s chances of luring Kelleher to the south coast is the presence of European football.
Bournemouth currently sit 10th in the table, though are just four points off fifth spot. Fifth position is expected to be good enough to earn a place in next year’s Champions League, with the Premier League due to receive an extra place.
Latest Liverpool news – Darwin Nunez bid coming
In other news, trusted reporter Ben Jacobs has shed light on the potential identity of Darwin Nunez’s next club.
Reporting forGiveMeSport, Jacobs wrote: ‘Sources believe the LaLiga giants are contemplating a loan with an obligation for Nunez in the region of €35-40million, although no contact has been made with Liverpool yet.’
€35m-€40m equates to just £29.4m-£33.6m and per Jacobs, is around half of what Liverpool were offered by Al-Nassr in January.
However, a separate report from Sky Sports Switzerland claimedNunez would much rather join a club from a country that more suits his upbringing and culture.
The obvious solution is a move to Spain and if Atleti do thunder in with a bid, Nunez’s future could lay in LaLiga.
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