CAOIMHÍN KELLEHER WAS back in training with the Republic of Ireland today after completing a medical ahead of his transfer to Brentford.
The Cork native is set to leave Liverpool in a deal worth up to €21.5 million (£18m) and travelled to London yesterday to finalise the deal.
Ireland assistant head coach John O’Shea confirmed the goalkeeper returned to camp and was involved in a session preparing for the visit of Senegal to Aviva Stadium on Friday.
“He trained very well. Listen, we’ve nothing to confirm yet. Obviously it’s not for us to confirm anything. But listen, if it does happen, something happens. Fantastic. If it doesn’t, we still have a very good goalkeeper on our hands either way. It’s out there where he might have been or where he might have gone to. But we can’t confirm anything yet,” O’Shea said.
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“Every scenario will be different. Like the manager has always stressed, we’d love our players to be playing. It’s as simple as that. He’s obviously at a very good club, has had success, and whatever happens next, hopefully he’s playing. It’s as simple as that. And we hope the same for all the squad, all the players involved over the last couple of squads, that they get themselves playing as much as possible.
“It just helps us because, listen, this man alongside me is so consistent and you can see in his performances for us the benefit of playing week in, week out, maintaining that consistency. That’s what you want in a team because obviously the time-wise, when we get together, the limited time period we have, the more fitter the players are, the better it will help in the game.”
Jason Knight was the player alongside O’Shea after training today and the former Manchester United defender, who left Old Trafford for Sunderland during his own playing days, expanded on what it’s like when the time comes to leave one of English football’s biggest clubs.
“It’s not an easy thing for him (Kelleher) to do. He’s proven the quality that he has every time he’s been asked to go in as the number one for Liverpool, the run of games that he’s shown, that he’s been able to show the consistency that he’s shown when he’s had a run, that they haven’t missed Alisson when he has been injured.
“I think that’s what the whole of Europe and the whole of the world has seen when Caoimhín has been in goal for Liverpool. So, listen, whatever happens, I’m sure we’ll get the benefit of it.”
Ireland have a full squad to choose from so the likes of defender Josh Honohan, and midfielders Killian Phillips and John Joe Patrick Finn are in line for debuts that O’Shea insists will be important to build on the momentum from the Nations League play-off win over Bulgaria earlier this year.
“You want to have some of the fresh faces that we’ve had this week, [they've] have brought a new energy as well. We’re getting them up to speed on how we like things done, how we want the team to operate, getting that understanding.
“I think that brings a freshness into the lads that have been here a good while as well. Obviously, the lads that are having a rest as such from what the manager has spoken about, they’ll be thinking, ‘I wonder how the other lads might get on’. That’s what we need. We need that kind of freshness, but also that increased competition. And I think it’s up to the lads that are here now to show, ‘right, I’m in, I’m getting a chance, I’m involved, I need to stay here, I need to prove I can be needed here’.
“And I think that’s the key element, increase that competition and then we get increased levels of performance… That’s always the perfect scenario that the manager and the staff have a difficult decision to make. First and foremost, it’s always a difficult decision to pick a team. But then when you’re picking the squad, you’re saying to the boys now, players that are maybe not here.
“They’re looking in thinking, ‘oh, if he does well, if he comes on, if he does well?’ But behind all that is the goal to qualify for a major tournament, the goal to have the reliability of knowing that if he gets injured, this guy done brilliant for us, we know he’s ready to go, seeing that they’re able to mix into the group.
“They know the scenario of the group in terms of what the coaching staff are looking for, what the management is looking for. If someone really stands up and goes, right, I’m ready to go, it’s a huge bonus.”