SHOCK move beckons for 'great' Liverpool first-team favourite

Liverpool have got an impending goalkeeping crisis on their hands. Next summer Giorgi Mamardashvili will arrive on a permanent basis once his current loan deal with Valencia expires.

The 24-year-old Georgian is not coming to Anfield to make up the numbers having made it very clear he intends to be No.1.

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And given sporting director Richard Hughes has made an outlay of around £29m for the shot-stopper, it’s expected that he will remain in the Reds’ goal for the long term.

That move would leave TWO Liverpool goalkeepers in the dark about their futures.

Alisson Becker, undisputed No.1 and perhaps the best goalkeeper in the world, has admitted that he would like to wear the colours of original club Internacional before he retires and he could end up leaving before his contract expires in 2027.

Kelleher wants to LEAVE

Caoimhin Kelleher, meanwhile, has staked a claim in the absence of Alisson that he has got what it takes to be a No.1 for a top club.

The Irishman played his part in Liverpool’s long, unbeaten run earlier this season when Alisson was laid up with injury. However, he has again been shunted back to the bench by Arne Slot, who views Alisson as first choice.

Kelleher admitted last summer that he was ready to QUIT in order to find consistent first-team football although no team ended up paying Liverpool’s asking price.

But with a contract expiring in 2026, and with no intention on the 26-year-old’s part to sit around as a No.2, it means he could end up leaving next summer.

And, according to the latest report from TEAMtalk, there is a high-flying Championship club interested in adding Kelleher to their roster.

Leeds plan Kelleher bid

Leeds United are planning to be back in the Premier League next season with the Whites currently in the automatic promotion positions. And should they go up, they have identified Kelleher as the man who will fill their goal in the long term.

It is expected that current goalkeeping incumbent Ilan Meslier will leave sooner rather than later and an ambitious swoop for Kelleher is in the works. The Elland Road outfit will face significant competition for Kelleher with it believed that Champions League clubs have got their eye on the Ireland international.

The report adds that there would be doubts over Kelleher’s receptiveness to the move, considering Leeds could go straight back down. However there is certainty that Leeds would provide him the first-team football he’s looking for.

Arne Slot re-emphasised Kelleher’s role in the pecking order earlier this week. Although he described his second-choice as a ‘great’ goalkeeper, he added that he was hopeful that he wouldn’t have to play as much in the second half of the season as he did in the first.

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