**Sander Westerveld says it is time for Liverpool's Caoimhín Kelleher to strike out as a starter for another Premier League club.**
Former Reds stopper Westerveld is a big fan of Giorgi Mamardashvili, who will move to Anfield in the summer after Liverpool allowed Georgia's established number one to remain on loan to Valencia this season.
Cork man Kelleher, who is Ireland's first choice netminder and was between the posts for both legs of the Nations League play-off victory over Bulgaria in recent days, has a year left on his contract beyond this term.
The 26-year-old has made eight Premier League and four Champions League appearances this term season, and played in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle United.
But Alisson Becker remains the club's first-choice keeper and Mamardashvili is expected to challenge the Brazilian. Kelleher will find himself at the bottom of the pecking order if he stays.
Bournemouth are believed to be leading the race for the £30m valued Corkman, with Newcastle, Leeds United and Chelsea also linked with a move.
Caoimhin Kelleher of Liverpool punches under pressure from Joelinton of Newcastle United during the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium on March 16 (Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
"I was very surprised when Liverpool signed Mamardashvili," said Westerveld, who spent three years with Liverpool and made 75 appearances for the Reds in the mid to late 1990s.
"I follow Spanish football and I know how good this guy is. I said after the last Euros that he was the best goalkeeper in the Euros. This season he has been criticised a little. I'm not worried. It's obviously for the number two spot, as Alisson will be the number one.
"With Kelleher, I think his time has come to play regularly as a number one somewhere. In the Premier League and Championship, he could be a great goalkeeper for almost all of the teams that there are.
"He's a quality goalkeeper and he needs to play. As a fan, I would like him to stay another a bit longer but then Liverpool would have two of the best goalkeepers in Europe (behind Alisson).
"You should have a number one and a good back-up, either an experienced guy who knows he's number two and can come in and doesn't need to play five games to get rhythm because he's got experience, or you can have a slightly younger goalkeeper, like Kelleher, who shows himself and the quality.
"At the moment Liverpool are having a luxury problem and hopefully we can have that next season, too."
Elsewhere in the world of the beautiful game, theories about the future of another Cork man have been swirling - as one of Roy Keane's former colleagues explains why he reckons [we'll never see Keano in the manager's seat again](https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/local-news/roy-keanes-ex-colleague-tells-31270197).