Have Liverpool made a £30m Caoimhin Kelleher BLUNDER?

Republic of Ireland battled to a hard-fought 1-0 win over Finland in the UEFA Nations League last night.

The victory came in no small part due to the heroics of Caoimhin Kelleher. The Liverpool man saved a 78th-minute penalty in addition to making three other saves, keeping a clean sheet from an absurd 2.3 expected goals on-target.

Kelleher again reiterated his desire to play consistent football when speaking after the game, saying “This season I’ve played a lot of games now and definitely seen a marked improvement. Playing week in week out is helping a lot.”

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The Irish shot-stopper’s performances are beginning to pose a problem for Liverpool. Since Alisson’s injury against Crystal Palace in early October, Kelleher has been one of Liverpool’s best players.

He’s made a total of 14 saves, conceding only four goals from 5.8 expected goals against. For the more convoluted ‘post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed per 90’, a statistic that tracks a keeper’s ability to keep out shots they’re not expected to, Kelleher ranks fourth in the entire Premier League. He’s only behind Andre Onana, Nick Pope and, ironically, Alisson.

Kelleher, Alisson or Mamardashvili?

And herein lies the problem for Liverpool. This past summer they made a near £30m commitment to their future, cutting a deal for Georgia’s Euro 2024 goalkeeping hero Giorgi Mamardashvili.

At 24, the Georgian shot-stopper represents a significant investment. Whilst the rhetoric from the club is committed to Alisson being goalkeeper for as long as possible, it is much more likely that the club move on from the Brazilian sooner rather than later.

Alisson remains one of the best goalkeepers in the world yet is becoming more injury-prone, as well as being linked to fellow giants such as Barcelona. Liverpool clearly saw this as an issue that needed to be addressed, but based on current form, wildly miscalculated Kelleher’s worth.

Kelleher himself has gone on the record multiple times to say that he wants to be playing football week in, week out. Whilst Liverpool cannot offer him that at present, indications are that they could have in a short space of time.

Kelleher contract ticking down

They clearly rated Mamardashvili over him and have set a similar price tag on Kelleher’s head, indicating that they will be shipping him out when Mamardashvili officially arrives in the summer.

But it is becoming increasingly clear that Kelleher is a Premier League-standard goalkeeper and, as such, suggests Mamardashvili could be a waste of £30m.

Furthermore, next summer Kelleher will be one year closer towards his contract expiry in 2026 and the club may have to adjust their asking price accordingly.

With some crucial contracts needing sorting, let’s hope this doesn’t prove to be a massive waste of resources when the answer in goal could have already been on the books.

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