Kelleher's Return and Centre-Back Solutions for Liverpool
Andoni Iraola has barely had time to find his office at the AXA Training Centre, but the size of his in-tray is already clear. At the top of it: the goalkeeper conundrum and a threadbare centre-back department that could drag Liverpool back towards a familiar transfer market.
Straight back, in fact, to Brentford.
Kelleher’s circle back to Anfield?
Caoimhin Kelleher left Liverpool a year ago with medals in his bag and a point to prove. Sold to Brentford for an initial £12.5m, he went in search of what Jürgen Klopp could never quite give him – a full season as an undisputed number one.
He got it. And he thrived.
The Republic of Ireland international, a winner of six major honours at Anfield, delivered the kind of campaign that justifies a career gamble. Week after week for Brentford, he showed why he had long been considered one of the most polished understudies in the Premier League.
Now his name is back on Liverpool lips.
The Alisson Becker situation hangs over everything. Juventus have been strongly linked, even after Liverpool triggered their option earlier this year to extend the Brazilian’s deal to the end of next season. Arne Slot hinted the club might have a decision to make this summer, yet the stance inside Anfield has remained consistent: they want Alisson to stay.
Reports in Brazil suggest Alisson has decided to resist Juventus and remain on Merseyside for at least one more year. That call would steady one part of Iraola’s planning, but it complicates another.
Giorgi Mamardashvili, who made 20 appearances this season, sits in the middle of that uncertainty. Claims in Italy say his representatives have been offering him on loan, testing the market while Liverpool’s goalkeeping picture remains cloudy.
Into that fog steps Kelleher.
Former Ireland, Chelsea and Aston Villa midfielder Andy Townsend believes the 25-year-old has played his way back into the conversation at the very top.
“I think he's a very reliable goalkeeper,” Townsend said. “He's developed into someone that I could see a bigger club than Brentford coming to take. When I look at Chelsea's goalie (Robert Sanchez), I don't think he even comes close to Caoimhin Kelleher.
“Brentford know they've got a good one, but it's got to be a bigger club. Brentford had a good season, but it's got to be a club like Liverpool or Chelsea. I remain convinced that he could do that.”
The problem is no longer whether Kelleher is good enough. It’s whether he would accept being back in the shadow of someone else.
“He doesn't want to go anywhere now where he isn't the number one, he's shown he can handle that,” Townsend added. “He's the national team number one by a distance. The last thing he wants to do is go to a club like Liverpool and find himself playing only 10 or 15 games a season. He's done that already. If he goes anywhere, he wants to go in as a number one.
“I could totally see him going to Newcastle and being number one there, or Chelsea. If Alisson does decide to leave Liverpool, they could do a lot worse than Kelleher. They know him very well and whenever he played for Liverpool, he was always very dependable.”
That’s the crux for Iraola. If Alisson stays, Kelleher’s route back to Anfield looks blocked. If Alisson goes, Liverpool suddenly need a ready-made, trusted number one. Few fit that description better than a goalkeeper they know inside out.
The question is whether Liverpool’s new head coach is about to inherit a smooth succession plan or a full-blown rebuild between the posts.
Centre-back gap and a Brentford solution
The issues do not stop with the gloves.
At centre-back, Liverpool’s depth has been stripped to the bone. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez stand as Iraola’s only senior options in the heart of defence following the departure of Ibrahima Konaté.
Behind them, there is talent, but also risk. Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni are both highly regarded, yet both are working their way back from serious injuries. Betting a season on their immediate readiness would be reckless.
Again, Townsend looks to Brentford for an answer – this time in the shape of their captain, Nathan Collins.
“He's done really well, Nathan Collins,” Townsend told OLBG. “I know that Spurs have just signed (Marcos) Senesi from Bournemouth. I think Nathan Collins would have been a good fit for them.
“A boy playing in London, going to another London club, that can help. I think he could be a very talented centre-half. He had too many mistakes in him 18 months ago, but he seems to have eradicated a lot of that. And he's a tall lad, he's quick enough, and he can play. So I think he's ready for an opportunity now to go and show that he can go up a notch. I think he can do it, I really do.”
Collins has long been seen as a centre-back with a high ceiling, but Townsend believes the rough edges that once held him back have started to disappear.
“I said a couple of years ago he was a little bit soft with his defensive work, giving away easy goals,” he said. “I think now he's got better in that respect. There is a more ruthless element to what he's doing defensively now, he's a bit more solid.
“Because of that, I think certainly there's a number of clubs that could do with a player like him and would benefit.”
The sticking point, as ever, is money.
“But whether Liverpool will be that and whether they would pay Brentford the sort of money they would want, I'm not sure, that is the only concern. But I think Nathan's got a lot of ability.”
For Iraola, the early picture is stark. His first summer at Liverpool could hinge on two big calls: whether to trust that Alisson stays and Mamardashvili settles, or to rip up the goalkeeping plan and tempt Kelleher back; whether to lean on Van Dijk and Gomez with youngsters in reserve, or to test Brentford’s resolve over their captain.
Two players, one club, and a new head coach already staring at decisions that will shape Liverpool’s season before a ball is kicked.
