Caoimhin Kelleher now has the chance to beat £3m-a-year RIVAL to Liverpool shirt

Liverpool have had a spectacular start to the season, with the Reds sitting top of the Premier League table and playing some good football.

The Reds have only conceded two goals in their opening seven league matches and, whilst some of this can be put down to impressive performances from Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, Alisson must also receive some of the credit.

The Brazilian shot-stopper has started all but one of Liverpool’s league games and has made some remarkable saves in that time, but he is now injured once again.

This means that Caoimhín Kelleher is due for another run in the team, and it could be a career defining one.

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Kelleher’s chance to fend off Mamardashvili

Although Kelleher has been a more than capable back up to Alisson over the last few seasons, Liverpool agreed a future transfer for Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili this summer.

The 24-year-old will remain at Valencia, the club Liverpool signed him from, until the end of the season but is due an Anfield move in the summer of 2025.

It was thought this move would spell the end of Kelleher’s Liverpool career and the Irishman hasn’t been shy about his desire the play regular first-team football.

This has resulted in almost constant links between Kelleher and other clubs but this upcoming run could be the perfect opportunity for Kelleher to show that Mamardashvili isn’t a necessary addition at Anfield just yet.

Kelleher’s tough run

So early after Alisson’s injury it is hard to know how long the Brazilian will be out for but, for argument’s sake, the November international break seems like a good benchmark.

In the time between now and the November international break Liverpool will host Chelsea, visit RB Leipzig, visit Arsenal, play Brighton both home and away in four days and then host Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa.

This will be an incredibly tough run for the Reds, especially with the recent injury of Alexis Mac Allister too.

As well as being tough, this run of games will be a chance for Kelleher to truly prove to the Liverpool hierarchy that he is good enough to be the Reds’ number one.

No matter how well the Irishman plays he is unlikely to displace Alisson permanently but the Brazilian has less than two years remaining on his contract and it isn’t out of the question that he could leave Merseyside in the summer.

Kelleher’s long-term ambition

If Kelleher performs to a top level whilst covering for Alisson its possible that he could cement himself as next in line to the Reds’ no.1 shirt and leapfrog Mamardashvili before he has even arrived at the club.

It is also plausible that Kelleher will see this run as an opportunity to put himself in the shop window and try to attract a different club to come in and snap him up.

Either way, this opportunity is a huge one for Kelleher and how well he plays will likely define the next few years of his career.

Liverpool supporters will be hoping that this extra pressure pushes Kelleher to perform even better and that the Reds’ dominant run continues for the foreseeable future, even without Alisson.