Former Liverpool and Ireland forward John Aldridge has claimed that Liverpool manager Arne Slot should stick with Caoimhín Kelleher even when their first-choice goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, returns to action.
Alisson has been sidelined with a hamstring injury but is nearing a comeback. In his absence, Kelleher has stepped in and performed admirably.
However, it is widely expected that Alisson will reclaim his starting position once he is fit.
“He is and will be our first goalkeeper if he is fit. But first he needs to be fit," said Slot after the 2-0 Aston Villa win
“But Caoimh has done outstanding last season and this season again as well, but the moment Alisson is fit, he will be our first goalkeeper.”
Caoimhin Kelleher of Liverpool in action, England. (Photo by Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)Aldridge, who made 83 appearances for the club, believes Slot should maintain the status quo and suggests that Alisson will understand the situation.
"I think Caoimhín Kelleher has been our standout player. He has a massive future ahead of him at the club. If Alisson is fit, I still think the manager needs to stick with Kelleher. Ali has done nothing wrong whatsoever, and I think he will recognise the situation. He will be thinking, ‘I can’t come back into this team,’ and it is hard to say that because he is so good. It will be such a tough decision for Arne [Slot] to make," the former Ireland international said this week.
"We’ll wait and see what happens, but I just think Kelleher should be number one. I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with me. If you’re injured and someone takes your place, performing well in your absence, you don’t get your place back—regardless of who you are. That’s why we used to play with cortisone injections, so we could keep our place! It doesn’t sound good, but that’s what you had to do. Kelleher has been awesome."
Liverpool play Southampton at 2:30 PM.
