Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny has urged Caoimhin Kelleher to quit Liverpool for first-team football this summer.
Jurgen Klopp barely used his backup goalkeeper this season but drafted him in for the trip to Southampton on the final day. However, the 24-year-old was criticised for his performance as he shipped in four goals to the Premier League’s rock-bottom side.
The underwhelming display - combined with his lack of appearances in 2022-23 - raised question marks over Kelleher’s long-term future. As well as that final-day showing, the Irishman only featured twice in the Carabao Cup and once in the FA Cup as undisputed number one Alisson was preferred between the sticks.
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Despite his lack of opportunities at Anfield, Kelleher - who arrived on Merseyside as a teenager in 2015 - has emerged as Ireland’s first-choice goalkeeper. Kenny handed him his debut against Hungary in June 2020 and that faith was repaid with a clean sheet.
Ironically, Saints keeper Gavin Bazunu, who recently lost his place at club level, is Kelleher’s closest rival for the international jersey. Speaking ahead of Ireland’s double-header against Greece and Gibraltar, Kenny backed the Liverpool understudy - while hinting at a likely summer move in the coming months.
"Caoimhin has never let us down," he told reporters. "He's a very talented goalkeeper and, hopefully, it looks like he'll be on the move this summer.
"(A move) will only benefit him as he needs to play games because he has been starved of games this year. That has been a problem for him. He's very, very talented. It's hard to leave Liverpool, they are such an iconic club.
“But he's not so young any more. He's 24 now and he needs to play, and he knows that. I've been speaking to him regularly over the last year or two. He knows that himself. He knew it earlier in the season and I think he has been in dialogue with Liverpool about that for a long time. It's most likely it will happen in the summer."
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