By the time Liverpool kick off against Austrian side LASK in their Europa League opener on Thursday, 116 days will have passed since Caoimhin Kelleher last played a competitive game.
The 24-year-old is in line to start this week after sitting patiently on the sidelines watching Alisson Becker, Liverpool’s tried and trusted No 1, who played all but one Premier League fixture last season. Kelleher’s solitary outing came in the final-day 4-4 draw at Southampton on May 28.
It’s also now 315 days since the Irishman last started a game at Anfield, when Kelleher offered a reminder of his qualities by saving three penalties in a Carabao Cup shootout win over Derby County. Liverpool were drawn at Manchester City in the following round and lost 3-2, meaning the Irishman’s time in the team was again over.
Kelleher was handed a rare outing in the FA Cup in January, but only because a replay was needed after failing to see off Wolverhampton Wanderers at the first attempt. Manager Jurgen Klopp had already decided by that point that Alisson was not only going to be the Premier League and Champions League goalkeeper, but the FA Cup one, too.
Caoimhin Kelleher in a rare Liverpool outing last season (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
It has become a conundrum for both player and club. Kelleher is clearly talented enough to be a regular goalkeeper in the Premier League and is liked and respected within the club, holding strong relationships with his coaches and team-mates – he just isn’t at the level to dislodge Alisson. Liverpool, meanwhile, recognise his ability but cannot afford to let him leave in case the Brazilian suffers an injury.
Kelleher’s demotion to the bench has had consequences. He has lost his place in the Republic of Ireland squad to Southampton’s Gavin Bazunu, largely because the rival goalkeeper is playing regularly for his team, albeit in the Championship. Kelleher hasn’t played for his country since March.
All of which makes Liverpool’s game at LASK this week so significant, for Kelleher at least. It represents a rare chance to start and remind both Liverpool, and the wider world, about his qualities and he knows he can make this competition his own this season — much as he did by helping Liverpool win a domestic cup double in 2022.
But even then, is it enough?
The Premier League saw a domino effect this summer, with half the clubs signing goalkeepers to either become their new No 1 or offer a serious challenge to the incumbent. Three of those, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, were interested in Kelleher, but all ultimately went for alternative options in Guglielmo Vicario (£17million; $21m), Bart Verbruggen (£16.3m) and Mark Flekken (£11m) respectively.
Instead, Kelleher stayed put as Liverpool rejected loan offers and made it clear they would only reluctantly sell if an “extraordinary” bid arrived. Nothing ever did.
It’s no secret that the goalkeeper would welcome the opportunity to be a starter at a high level elsewhere, but there was no sulking when the transfer window closed. Instead, he got his head down and maintained the hard-working ethos that has always been well received.
That does not mean he will not be wondering how long he can afford to wait, however. Danny Ward had a similar dilemma back in the summer of 2018 when he was pushing for minutes alongside Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius after a successful loan spell at Huddersfield Town. Ward decided that moving to Leicester City for £12.5million — where he expected to become the No 1 — was the sensible option, particularly given Alisson had also just arrived for a world-record fee.
Left to right: Andy Lonergan, Adrian, Jack Robinson (assistant goalkeeper coach), Alisson Becker, John Achterberg (goalkeeping coach) and Caoimhin Kelleher with the 2020 Premier League (Paul Ellis/Pool via Getty Images)
Yet Ward’s subsequent struggles at Leicester show the danger of selecting the wrong move. The Welshman thought he was going to replace Kasper Schmeichel, who had been linked with a high-profile move away to Chelsea, but instead played back-up to him for four years as the Dane stuck around.
Also, if there’s one player the Europa League will benefit this season, it’s likely to be Kelleher. Had Liverpool remained in the Champions League, the goalkeeper wouldn’t have had as many chances to feature, something which would have surely influenced his thinking during the last transfer window.
Klopp spoke openly about needing to provide his understudy with enough minutes to satisfy him in 2022, when Kelleher played an important role in the Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea, even scoring in the penalty shootout.
That was 18 months ago, though, when backup duties were not so much of an issue for a player who had just turned 23. He turns 25 in November and the clock is ticking. He may be recognised as one of the strongest second-choice goalkeepers in the division and more than capable of holding his own as a starter, but the sample size to work off is still small.
Kelleher has only played five times in the Premier League, with just 21 senior appearances in total, the majority of those in the domestic cup competitions.
By contrast, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, who is now facing competition issues of his own in the form of David Raya, has already made over 200 senior appearances, the majority of those in the Premier League, despite being just six months older. Brighton’s Verbruggen and Burnley’s James Trafford are also younger but are getting regular Premier League minutes.
Kelleher, undoubtedly, has benefited from high-level training alongside Alisson and with goalkeeper coach John Achterberg. His development since moving from Ringmahon Rangers in Cork, where he started life as a striker, has set him up for a bright future.
Liverpool’s staff have continually spoken about his qualities and see him as their perfect No 2. The question, perhaps, is about how long he’s prepared to accept that, and if Liverpool cannot offer him the guarantee of regular minutes in the future, who can?
(Top photo: David Ramos/Getty Images)
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