Liverpool are set to move on a star, with his replacement lined up this month
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Liverpool are reportedly keeping tabs on a Championship player to replace a star looking set to leave.
Kelleher has been Alisson's deputy between the sticks since 2019, making 32 appearances in all competitions, only seven of which have been in the Premier League. The bulk of his appearances have been in cup games, helping to earn him a reputation as something of a penalty shootout specialist.
However, the Irish international is now 25 years old, and with Alisson under contract for another three and a half years, it would be understandable if Kelleher were to feel his career would now be better served by heading out to become the undisputed number one elsewhere.
Alisson is blocking the pathway for his deputy (Image credit: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Nobody in Merseyside will have read it, but The Sun have put two and two together on that front and suggests that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has concerns that Kelleher may well depart this summer - though they add that a January departure will not be sanctioned.
Reportedly, Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson is being lined up in case Caoimhin Kelleher asks to leave for pastures new in pursuit of regular first-team football. The Black Cats' academy product Patterson is the man said to be in the frame if Kelleher were to leave.
The 23-year-old firmly established himself as the Black Cats' stopper of choice in the second half of the 2021/22 season, helping them to win promotion from League One.
Sunderland went close to back-to-back promotions by reaching last season's Championship play-off semi-finals, where they were beaten by eventual winners Luton, and are hoping to go one better this season. They currently sit outside the top six on goal difference, with Patterson boasting one of the best goalkeeping records in the division.
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Fans of the League Cup will be delighted to know that Patterson saved a penalty earlier this season, denying Swansea's Jamal Lowe in November on his way to keeping one of his eight Championship clean sheets this season.
Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.
