As good a goalkeeper as Caoimhin Kelleher is, Liverpool fans are perhaps becoming too accustomed to seeing him in action.
The Irishman could once again be in line to start a Premier League game tomorrow, with Alisson Becker struggling with an injury. It’s a situation Kelleher is more than familiar with, having deputized for the Brazilian 10 times in the league last season while making a total of 26 appearances in all competitions.
There can’t be too many No.2 goalkeepers who can claim to have had as much game time as Kelleher over the past year or so. There certainly won’t be any concerns on Arne Slot’s part if he does have to throw the 25-year-old in against Bournemouth, but the amount of games he’s playing is becoming something of a concern.
The weary reaction from supporters on social media told you all you need to know when news of Alisson’s latest injury broke on Friday. The Brazilian is the best goalkeeper in the world and gives the Reds a major advantage over their rivals, but that advantage quickly dissipates when he’s missing as many games as he is.
Hopefully, this new issue proves to be nothing too serious, and if he is to miss today’s game, it proves to be the only one he’s forced to sit out this season. If that’s not the case though, Liverpool could be left facing an awkward situation next summer.
Giorgi Mamardashvili will of course be making his way to Anfield then, and if Kelleher gets his wish, he’ll be moving on to pastures new. Slot though will be left with two goalkeepers who will both expect to be No.1, and quite how he plans to accommodate them both remains to be seen.
After all, Alisson has indicated he has no plans of moving on next summer, despite being the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia this year.
"I want to honor my contract and finish my contract here or make a new one. I am really happy here. My family is happy," Alisson said last month.
"I never got to the point where I was talking about wages and things like this. It was just interest, but when you hear about the numbers the other players are getting you are a little bit attracted. That is normal."
Alisson added: “As long as I have my contract here and as long as I am happy here, the club is happy with me, my family is happy here, [so] I will stay."
The 31-year-old’s current deal runs until 2026, with the option of a further year should Liverpool want to tie him down for longer. While it might have been unthinkable to not take up that option just over a month ago, the signing of Mamardashvili does now mean the Reds have their goalkeeper for the future already secure.
If injuries prove to be a problem for Alisson again this season, then FSG and sporting director Richard Hughes may well have to make the brutal decision not to take that extra year. If so, they cannot make the same mistake they have made countless times before.
Too often we have seen top players leave the club for nothing at the end of their contracts. Gini Wijnaldum, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, Thiago Alcantara – the list goes on, and if they’re not careful, it could happen again next summer with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Alisson is far too big an asset to let the opportunity to make some money pass them by. If Mamardashvili is to become No.1, and Alisson is not going to stay beyond 2026, Liverpool must sell next year.
