Arne Slot's Alisson choice pushes Caoimhin Kelleher towards Liverpool departure

The Irishman is widely regarded as the best No.2 in the Premier League, with his recent stint in the Liverpool first-team, owing to the hamstring injury sustained by Alisson at Crystal Palace in early October, seeing Kelleher conceding just five goals in his eight appearances so far.

That run of form has seen the 25-year-old keep clean sheets in his last three appearances, earning Kelleher widespread acclaim for his displays between the posts and contributing significantly to Liverpool's position at the top of the Premier League and the Champions League tables.

However, with Slot already having made clear that Alisson is his No.1 and will be reinstated to the side as soon as he is fit enough to do so, and with the Reds having already agreed a deal to sign Giorgi Mamardashvili next summer, Football Insider now reports that Kelleher has already told friends this will be his final season at Anfield and plans to quit unless he is given any guarantees over his playing time.

Several sides are understood to be monitoring his situation, with Celtic once again among his suitors as they consider life after Kasper Schmeichel, who recently turned 38.

And while Liverpool value the keeper in the £25m bracket, the fact his contract is due to expire in the summer of 2026 means the Reds will likely need to accept a few below their valuation of him, come the summer 2025 window.

Slot has been brutally honest about his pecking order at Anfield, recently revealing plans to reinstall Alisson to the side as soon as the Brazilian recovers.

"First of all, Alisson needs to become fit and I've always been quite clear and that's always been the position of Alisson that he is, and will be, our first goalkeeper if he is fit," Slot told a press conference.

"Therefore he first needs to be it, but Caoimhin has done outstanding last season and this season again as well. But the moment Alisson will be fit he will be our first goalkeeper."

Understandably, those comments have not gone down too well with Kelleher, who has not hidden away from his ambitions to establish himself as first-choice goalkeeper.

Clearly, if that won't happen at Liverpool, the player is prepared to look elsewhere for it.

"I was quite clear [last summer] that I wanted to play first-team football, whether that was here or elsewhere. I wanted to be a No 1," Kelleher told the Daily Telegraph last month.

"That was my thought process, but it's always been my thought process because obviously I am a football player and, like every player, I want to play. I'm not going to enjoy myself or be happy sitting on the bench.

"The best thing I can do is go and play well and, yeah, maybe give the manager something to think about, give him a headache maybe."

Slot's plan though to immediately reinstate Alisson has not gone down well with a Reds striker great, who claims Slot should be "embarrassed" to axe the Irishman given his form over the last month.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are looking at reinforcements of their own in the January window and are reported to have opened talks with Eintracht Frankfurt over a deal for Omar Marmoush, though they have been warned that a deal will not come cheap.

The Egyptian striker has plundered an impressive 14 goals in 16 appearances this season.

Elsewhere, reports in Spain now claim Real Madrid's desperation to land Trent Alexander-Arnold in January will see them offer Liverpool a cash-plus-player exchange with £21m heading to Anfield and the offer of a top Los Blancos star as part of the deal.

And finally, sources have revealed to us that Liverpool have been left seriously impressed by Sweden left-back Daniel Svensson, who has been putting in several fine performances for FC Nordsjaelland.

The Reds are scouting a long-term heir for Andy Robertson and we've been told the 22-year-old could fit the bill.

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