Caoimhin Kelleher admits it wasn’t his decision to stay at Liverpool this summer as he reiterated his desire to become a No 1 goalkeeper.
Liverpool rejected a cash plus player offer from Nottingham Forest towards the end of the window because it did not come close to meeting their £30million valuation.
The 25-year-old had been open to moving on as he wanted to play regularly rather than continue as back-up to Alisson.
Forest’s proposed deal had consisted of £7m plus goalkeeper Matt Turner, but Liverpool were not interested in the USMNT ‘keeper. Forest also had a bid of around £15m rejected in January.
With Liverpool agreeing a £29m deal for Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who will move to Anfield in the summer of 2025, Kelleher believes his future lies elsewhere.
“I think I’ve made it clear in the last few years that I want to go and be a number one and play week in, week out,” he told a press conference in Dublin ahead of the Republic of Ireland’s Nations League clash with Greece on Tuesday.
“The club have made that decision to get another goalkeeper in as well which, obviously from the outside looking in, looks like they’ve made a decision to go in a different direction.
“So yeah, my ambitions have always been clear and has been clear the last few seasons that I want to go and be a number one.
“Sometimes from the outside looking in, it looks like maybe that’s 100 per cent my decision but maybe at times it’s not always in my hands as well.”
Kelleher played 10 times in the Premier League last season and his Liverpool contract runs until 2026.
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Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher interview: ‘The next step is for me to be a No 1’
(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
