Former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar has suggested that Liverpool should either include a buy-back clause in Caoimhín Kelleher's contract or loan him out if he moves to another club.
Kelleher, Liverpool's de facto number 2 for several years now, has failed to displace the starting keeper, Alisson Becker. The 24-year-old has been relegated to cup competitions and has performed well, but it seems like a move away will come eventually.
Teams like Brentford and Spurs were linked with the Cork native last year, but a move never materialised in the end.
Former keeper Grobbelaar, who played for Liverpool between 1981 and 1994, described Kelleher as "fantastic" and said that Liverpool should include an option to bring the Irish keeper back if Alisson ever departs for another club.
"We've got a beautiful goalkeeper in Caoimhín Kelleher. When the manager comes out and says we've got the best goalkeeper in the world and the second-best goalkeeper here—talking about Caoimhín—it's a great accolade," said the Liverpool legend.
"But yes, from the Irish point of view, they'd rather have him play more games, and we are playing him in some of the cup games. But if there was a little thing that you could do to make him much better than he is, it would be to give him games.
Kelleher celebrates with teammates Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate after winning the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea (Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)"Maybe Liverpool could put him out on loan or sell him to a club with a buy-back clause and see if Alisson stays. If Alisson stays, then he's getting game time, and as soon as Alisson leaves, you activate the buy-back clause, and he comes straight back.
"That's the only way that I would look at it because he's such a fantastic goalkeeper."
Grobbelaar's comments come days after Jurgen Klopp's remarks about Kelleher. The German manager praised him for helping Liverpool reach another League Cup final but also admitted that he could be "frustrated."
"Caoimh is a top, top, top, top goalie. When Ali is fit, then he [Kelleher] doesn't have a lot of games. So, when I want to give him desperately the opportunity to play—because it's important for development—then he's on top of that. He's always there, giving absolutely everything... but, either way, it's the same," he said after the Fulham win.
"They deserve moments. This competition, I told Ali before the season two years ago, was already like that [Kelleher starting]. I don't know exactly how many games he's played now, but that's how it works. He was really happy after the game today. He's not smiling a lot—at least when I'm around—but afterwards I could see he was really happy about qualifying again and having a chance again to win a second trophy in his career, which would be a big one."
