Liverpool's Goalkeeping Dilemma: Alisson, Kelleher, and Future Plans
Andoni Iraola has barely had time to find his office at the AXA Training Centre, but the scale of his first Liverpool in-tray is already clear. Right near the top: the goalkeepers and the heart of his defence.
The new head coach, appointed on a two-year deal after Arne Slot’s dismissal, walks into a club still shaped by Alisson Becker’s presence. The Brazilian’s contract option was triggered earlier this year, tying him to Anfield until the end of next season, yet Juventus have hovered in the background, testing Liverpool’s resolve and the player’s own curiosity.
Reports in Brazil now suggest Alisson has chosen to resist the pull of Serie A and stay put for at least one more year. Liverpool’s stance has long been that they want him to remain. For Iraola, that’s both a relief and a complication.
It tightens the squeeze on everyone behind him.
Kelleher’s circle back to Anfield?
The decision reverberates straight through to Caoimhin Kelleher. Sold to Brentford a year ago for an initial £12.5m, the Republic of Ireland international left to escape the shadow of Alisson and secure the one thing he craved: a guaranteed No.1 shirt.
He delivered. Kelleher was outstanding for Brentford, justifying his move and his belief that he belonged as a first-choice goalkeeper in the Premier League. Six major honours from his Liverpool days underline his pedigree, but this season with the Bees has underlined something else: he can carry a team.
Now, with Liverpool’s goalkeeping picture shifting again, the idea of a return refuses to go away.
Former Ireland, Chelsea and Aston Villa midfielder Andy Townsend can see the story looping back to Merseyside.
“I think he’s a very reliable goalkeeper,” Townsend said, speaking to OLBG. “He’s developed into someone that I could see a bigger club than Brentford coming to take. When I look at Chelsea’s goalie (Robert Sanchez), I don’t think he even comes close to Caoimhin Kelleher.
“Brentford know they’ve got a good one, but it’s got to be a bigger club. Brentford had a good season, but it’s got to be a club like Liverpool or Chelsea. I remain convinced that he could do that.”
The problem is obvious. Kelleher didn’t leave Anfield to sit back on the bench and applaud Alisson from the sidelines. He’s now Ireland’s No.1 “by a distance,” as Townsend puts it, and he has little appetite to go backwards in terms of minutes.
“He doesn’t want to go anywhere now where he isn’t the number one, he’s shown he can handle that,” Townsend added. “The last thing he wants to do is go to a club like Liverpool and find himself playing only 10 or 15 games a season. He’s done that already. If he goes anywhere, he wants to go in as a number one.”
That’s the crux. Liverpool might see him as an ideal solution if Alisson eventually moves on, a familiar and dependable presence who has already proved he can handle the club’s demands. Townsend certainly thinks so.
“If Alisson does decide to leave Liverpool, they could do a lot worse than Kelleher. They know him very well and whenever he played for Liverpool, he was always very dependable.
“I could totally see him going to Newcastle and being number one there, or Chelsea.”
For now, though, Alisson’s intention to stay parks any immediate succession plan. It also leaves another keeper, Giorgi Mamardashvili, in a state of limbo.
The Georgia international has made 20 appearances this season and has been linked with moves away, with claims his representatives have offered him on loan to clubs in Italy. Any long-term reshaping of Liverpool’s goalkeeping department will have to take into account Alisson’s renewed commitment, Kelleher’s ambitions, and Mamardashvili’s next step.
Iraola’s first big decision may not be who to sign, but who can be persuaded to accept a role that doesn’t come with a guaranteed starting spot.
Centre-back conundrum and a Brentford solution
If the goalkeeping situation is complex, the centre-back picture is brutally simple.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez stand as Iraola’s only senior central defensive options after the departure of Ibrahima Konate. Behind them, there is genuine optimism about Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni, yet both are battling back from serious injuries. Potential, yes. Immediate reliability, no.
That vulnerability has not gone unnoticed. Townsend again sees an answer at Brentford, this time in the shape of their captain, Nathan Collins.
“He’s done really well, Nathan Collins,” Townsend said. “I know that Spurs have just signed (Marcos) Senesi from Bournemouth. I think Nathan Collins would have been a good fit for them.
“A boy playing in London, going to another London club, that can help. I think he could be a very talented centre-half.”
Collins has had to grow up quickly in the Premier League. Once criticised for errors and lapses, he has started to iron those out of his game.
“He had too many mistakes in him 18 months ago, but he seems to have eradicated a lot of that,” Townsend explained. “And he’s a tall lad, he’s quick enough, and he can play. So I think he’s ready for an opportunity now to go and show that he can go up a notch. I think he can do it, I really do.”
Liverpool need exactly that profile: height, mobility, comfort on the ball, and a defender entering his prime rather than leaving it. The obstacle, as ever, is the market.
“But whether Liverpool will be that and whether they would pay Brentford the sort of money they would want, I’m not sure, that is the only concern. But I think Nathan’s got a lot of ability.”
Townsend has tracked Collins’ evolution closely, and the change in his defensive edge stands out.
“I said a couple of years ago he was a little bit soft with his defensive work, giving away easy goals. I think now he’s got better in that respect. There is a more ruthless element to what he’s doing defensively now, he’s a bit more solid.
“Because of that, I think certainly there’s a number of clubs that could do with a player like him and would benefit.”
Liverpool sit firmly in that bracket. With Van Dijk not getting any younger and Gomez often asked to cover multiple roles, Iraola cannot afford to tiptoe into the season light at centre-back.
So the early shape of the new era is already visible. A head coach known for intensity and organisation, walking into a club where the spine needs reinforcement. A world-class goalkeeper staying, a former understudy thriving elsewhere, and a Brentford captain emerging as a viable solution at the back.
The question now is simple: how bold will Liverpool be in backing Iraola’s first rebuild, and will Brentford’s best become central to Anfield’s next chapter?
