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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Paul Gorst

Liverpool could overhaul department that shouldn't be touched with two potential exits

With Alisson Becker a leading candidate for Liverpool's Player of the Season award, the goalkeeper position is not an obvious area for Jurgen Klopp to focus his attention on this summer. On the surface, at least.

Behind the Brazil international though, there could be some upheaval that will force the Reds to act soon. Much of the talk in recent months has been of the need to refresh and replenish the options in the centre of midfield and it has been no surprise to see Liverpool linked with a string of players in that position.

From Jude Bellingham to Mason Mount, Ryan Gravenberch and Matheus Nunes, the Reds are said to be running the rule of several ahead of a vitally important rebuild later this year. In recent weeks, the club have also been linked to a number of centre-backs too, with RB Leipzig's Croatian international Josko Gvardiol the most high profile of those.

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Having performed with distinction across his near five-year spell on Merseyside, however, Alisson at least provides Klopp with a world-class operator between the sticks for the foreseeable future. Behind the undisputed No.1, however, there is likely to be some movement that will force the recruitment team into action.

Veteran shot-stopper Adrian is almost certain to call time on his four years with the Reds later this summer when his contract expires. The former West Ham man was something of a surprise addition in the summer of 2019 but the Spaniard will always be able to lay claim of being the shootout hero of that year's UEFA Super Cup success against Chelsea, while his 11 appearances, mainly in the early weeks of the Premier League title-winning success in 2019/20 should also not be forgotten.

But at the age of 36, Adrian may feel a return to his homeland could be in the offing after he opted against it two years ago when offers were on the table prior to his contract extension. The departure of the third-choice goalkeeper may present those further down the pecking order with an opportunity this summer, with Under-21s incumbent Harvey Davies best placed to profit as things stand.

The Childwall-born goalkeeper has often pulled double duty on Champions League nights for the Reds, helping his more established colleagues warm up at Anfield just hours after helping Barry Lewtas's side during their successful UEFA Youth League group campaign. Such experience may seem trivial from the outside but it would no doubt have given Davies a minor taste of what it is all about at the elite level.

Davies was even part of the match-day squad for the 2-1 win over Ajax in mid-September, taking his place alongside Adrian as the two UEFA-mandated substitute goalkeepers with the squad No.95. "He's definitely working overtime!" joked U21 boss Lewtas at the time.

But if Klopp decides to continue with the policy of having one experienced goalkeeper alongside a more youthful shot-stopper as his No.2 and No.3, then it might be that the Reds move for someone with more miles on the clock.

The Reds were linked with a deal for Hannover's Ron-Robert Zieler in January due to the fact the goalkeeper is into the final few months of his contract. Respected German publication BILD reported during the most recent transfer window that Klopp was keen to bring him in as cover due to the outgoing Adrian.

Crucially, Zieler would qualify as a homegrown player owing to his teenage years with Manchester United. He moved to Old Trafford in 2005 and spent five years in England that included a loan spell with Northampton Town, before moving back to Germany when he joined Hannover.

Despite never making a senior appearance for United, Zieler does also have Premier League experience, having spent a season with Leicester City a year after they became champions of England. The glovesman made 13 appearances in total for the Foxes that included their 4-2 win over Manchester City in December 2016.

The real 'keeper conundrum that might be hurtling towards Klopp this summer, however, is the future of Caoimhin Kelleher, who has proven himself to be an outstanding deputy for Alisson since he broke into the first-team picture in 2019.

The Irish goalkeeper rewarded Klopp for a major show of faith last season when he kept goal for the Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea, despite the availability of Alisson. Kelleher was flawless throughout before he dispatched the match-winning penalty past his opposite number Kepa Arrizabalaga in the shootout.

As a result, Kelleher was immortalised by seeing his likeness painted onto the goalkeepers' wall at the club's AXA Training Centre, which seeks to recognise the achievements of those No.1s who have won silverware with Liverpool. Despite the esteem in which he is held at the club, however, the laidback Irishman conceded in December that he might review his long-term future this coming summer at the age of 24.

"I am quite relaxed, so I don't mind watching, but obviously I'd rather be playing but I just try to be as focused as I can be when I watch so I am ready if I am needed," Kelleher said after the 3-2 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup.

"Listen, I think we've obviously only just come back into the middle of the season. So we'll just see what the season brings and then after that we'll see, we'll see what happens after that. But I think at the moment, for now, I just have to be focused on trying to be ready for Liverpool."

There are surely few who would begrudge the former Ringmahon Rangers teen a move to become a first-choice Premier League goalkeeper elsewhere and there will be no shortage of suitors should Kelleher decide to seek a fresh challenge after four years in the shadow of the peerless Alisson.

It means that for the debate over the revolving door that is expected to be fixed onto the department marked 'midfielders' this summer, the goalkeeping one could also be set for a similar overhaul.

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