Liverpool respond to Nottingham Forest cash-plus-player offer for Caoimhin Kelleher – report
Liverpool have rejected a cash-plus-player transfer bid for Caoimhin Kelleher from Nottingham Forest, according to The Athletic.
James Pearce reported in The Athletic on 29 August that Forest had tabled an offer for Kelleher, which would see US goalkeeper Matt Turner head to Anfield on top of an undisclosed financial amount.
The Reds, however, have knocked Forest’s bid back, reportedly stating that the offer “did not come close” to the £25–30million at which they value 25-year-old Republic of Ireland international Kelleher.
Although Arne Slot’s side signed Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia on 26 August, his season-long loan back to the Spanish club means Kelleher will remain second-choice behind Alisson for the time being.
Liverpool not yet ready to sanction Caoimhin Kelleher transfer
While Kelleher has reportedly made no secret of his desire to eventually displace Alisson as the Reds’ number one choice between the sticks, that transition still looks to be a few seasons away – at least.
The signing of Mamardashvili and his eventual integration into the first-team squad next season throws a spanner in the works for Kelleher’s plans, with the Georgian likely to displace him in the pecking order.
A switch to Forest, where he’s more likely to be given chances on a regular basis, could well be appealing to the Irishman, who made 26 appearances in all competitions last season amid injury issues for Alisson.
The prospect of receiving Forest’s Turner in return clearly didn’t appeal to the Anfield hierarchy, showing that they still rate Kelleher highly within the goalkeeping ranks despite the signing of Mamardashvili.
While an exit from Anfield likely won’t come in this transfer window, Kelleher’s ambition for first-team football suggests that he won’t be waiting around for much longer if another opportunity comes along.
In other Liverpool news, Federico Chiesa’s arrival at Anfield could see one young player fall down the pecking order.
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