Liverpool have some big decisions to make on the makeup of their squad and potential departures from Anfield at the end of the ongoing season.
While the contract situations of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold have dominated the headlines for obvious reasons this season, it is hard to ignore that there are other players in the squad who are also facing an uncertain future.
Wataru Endo seems to be heading towards the exit door with several Premier League clubs interested in getting their hands on the player in the winter transfer window.
Tyler Morton is likely to be loaned out in January with Leeds United seeming to be especially interested in signing the young midfielder to boost their promotion chances.
While Liverpool do not expect to lose Caoimhin Kelleher in the winter transfer window, there is widespread acknowledgement that the Irishman needs to leave in the summer for the sake of his career.
Former Premier League goalkeeper urges Kelleher to quit Anfield soon
Shay Given is a big fan of his compatriot and has regularly insisted that Kelleher has wasted too much precious time of his career warming the bench for Liverpool.
He stressed that Kelleher is good enough to be the number one goalkeeper at any Premier League club but for that to happen, he needs to find the exit door at Anfield and soon.
Given insisted that it’s a shame that Liverpool never really gave him the hope that he could become their number one and stressed that they can’t continue to hold back Kelleher for too long.
He believes the Irishman has been too nice towards Liverpool and needs to force the issue if needed in order to get his move away from Anfield as soon as possible.
“Caoimhin played 26 games last season and in that time he showed that he has the talent to be a No 1 in the Premier League. But he turns 26 later this month and, if I am brutally honest, he needs to get away from Liverpool if he wants that to happen”, Given told The Mirror.
“Kelleher would have been disappointed to hear Slot state publicly that Alisson will always be his first-choice keeper because everyone wants to go into training every day with the belief that they are fighting for a place in the team.
“Every professional footballer has to have that hope that if they get a place in the team and perform well then they will keep the jersey. Caoimhin hasn’t got that. It has been made clear to him that he will always be behind Alisson – and let’s be honest he is up against a guy who is one of the best in the world.
“Caoimhin turns 26 later this month. He’s done his time at Liverpool. That’s no disrespect to a brilliant club but they are now starting to think that they can’t hold Kelleher back for much longer because he is a quality player.
“Maybe Caoimhin has been too nice about it up to now because sometimes you do have to force the issue. That isn’t a nice situation. He has been very loyal to Liverpool and he won’t want to upset the fans.
“But at the same time, you only have one career, one life and one opportunity to make the most of what you’ve got. Ten years down the road he could be 36 and people are talking about him as being over the hill.”
Kelleher will have a year left on his contract next summer and Liverpool are expected to sell him at the end of the season.
