Caoimhin Kelleher vows to keep Ireland place despite uncertain Liverpool future

By Damian Spellman, PA

Caoimhin Kelleher is confident the ongoing uncertainty over his future will not ruin his chances of establishing himself as the Republic of Ireland’s first-choice goalkeeper.

The 25-year-old Liverpool keeper is currently the man in possession for his country with Gavin Bazunu working his way back from an Achilles injury, and demonstrated his quality in Saturday’s 2-0 Nations League defeat by England with a string of important saves to keep the scoreline respectable.

However, he met up with the Ireland squad having been dealt a further blow by his club’s decision to strike a deal which will bring Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili to Anfield next summer and significantly increase the competition to oust Brazilian Alisson Becker.

Asked if there was a fear that his international career could be stunted by a lack of club action, Kelleher said: “Not for me personally.

“I have always been confident in my ability to perform when given the opportunity. I always train to a high standard, I am always professional, prepare correctly whether I am playing or not.

“If you take those attributes, you’ll always have a good chance of playing, so I am always confident even if I am not playing regularly at club level, that I have the ability and I am capable enough of putting in good performances when I play.”

Kelleher, who has two Carabao Cup winners’ medals to his name, deputised ably for Alisson during an extended injury lay-off last season, and finished the campaign with 26 appearances under his belt.

 

However, he has made no secret of his desire to establish himself as a number one, and Nottingham Forest have reportedly tried to sign him during each of the last two transfer windows.

Mamardashvili’s impending arrival on Merseyside appears to have brought matters to a head, with Kelleher admitting it looks as though his future may lie elsewhere.

He said: “The club made the decision to get another goalkeeper. From the outside looking in, it looks like they have made a decision to go in another direction.

“My ambition has always been clear the last few seasons, that I want to be a number one, playing week in, week out.

“It has been reported that Liverpool had rejected a few bids as well. It is not always in my hands to make the decision. My ambition is to prove I am good enough to play week in, week out.”

In the meantime, Kelleher will hope to further enhance his reputation by helping Ireland to bounce back from their defeat by England with a positive result against League B2 rivals Greece at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday evening.

He said: “It was going to be an uphill battle always against England, second in the European Championship, obviously a squad full of great players.

“But definitely within this squad, I know the quality. I see it every day when we are training, how good this squad is. We have confidence in ourselves and if we get a good result against Greece, that will give us even more confidence and then we can push on and do well in this group.”