Amazing Trent heir: Liverpool want "one of the best defenders in the world"

Not just Trent: World-class Liverpool star must not play for the club again

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We don’t know exactly when, but in the near future, Liverpool could welcome three stunning acquisitions to Arne Slot’s title-winning squad.

The defensive flanks will be restored through deals for Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez and Dutch speedster Jeremie Frimpong, while Florian Wirtz is on the verge of becoming Anfield’s record signing, looking likely to join Frimpong in moving from Bayer Leverkusen.

florian-wirtz-bayer-leverkusen

The Premier League champions have scarcely strengthened at all across the past three transfer windows, making their 20th top-flight title all the more sweet, but it has been tainted with some poignancy, with Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving next month.

Trent’s emotional goodbye

Alexander-Arnold has been criticised on social media for his supposed lack of emotion in the build-up to his show-stopping finale at Anfield on Sunday, but the 26-year-old has never really been one to wear his heart on his sleeve.

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold applauds fans after the match

However, who could say he was not freighted with ruefulness after Liverpool drew with Palace to wrap up the title, then finally lifted the league trophy in front of their fans?

The vice-captain will relinquish his position next month when he joins Real Madrid on a free transfer, his £180k-per-week contract set to expire.

At the end of the day, Alexander-Arnold’s rise from the academy has been synonymous with the period of sustained success across nearly a decade.

He made his professional debut, under Klopp’s wing, in the League Cup, starting during a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round.

Alexander-Arnold has since swept up the lot with his boyhood club, leaving the Premier League with more assists than any other defender in the division’s history. He’s won it twice, and indeed departs with a gold medal around his neck.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool Stats by Competition

Competition

Apps

Goals

Assists

Premier League

259

18

67

Champions League

60

2

13

FA Cup

13

1

3

League Cup

10

6

Europa League

5

2

Community Shield

2

1

CL Qualifiers

2

1

FIFA Club World Cup

2

1

UEFA Super Cup

1

Data via Transfermarkt

Trent’s glittering Liverpool legacy is incontrovertible, set in stone. However, it’s been dulled just a bit by his actions.

Indeed, there’s been a certain slyness to the way he’s ducked interviews across the year, his abject performance against Manchester United, his pointed celebration at West Ham United, retorting to fans questioning his love for the club.

Had he shown more candour from the beginning, the whole fiasco might have been avoided. Alexander-Arnold, for sure, could have taken a leaf from Caoimhin Kelleher’s book, for the shot-stopper should also leave this summer but will do so having given his all and with transparency.

Liverpool must part ways with Kelleher

Out of contract at the end of next season, it looks like Kelleher is going to leave Liverpool this summer, having clearly expressed his desire to take a more senior role to “be a number one“.

Liverpool's Caoimhin Kelleher

Aged 26, the Republic of Ireland international has featured 67 times for Liverpool’s first team, with his efforts as Alisson Becker’s deputy leading skipper Virgil van Dijk to hail him as a “world-class” player.

Alisson is widely considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, but his biggest weakness has been his inability to tread water on the fitness front.

Caoimhin Kelleher – Liverpool Stats by Season (all comps)

Season

Apps (PL)

Minutes

24/25

20 (10)

1,800′

23/24

26 (10)

2,400′

22/23

4 (1)

360′

21/22

8 (2)

750′

20/21

5 (2)

450′

19/20

4 (0)

360′

Stats via Transfermarkt

In truth, the fact Kelleher has enjoyed such regularity of action across his years as a Liverpool player underscores why Slot needs a steady number two to challenge Alisson for that top spot between the sticks.

Kelleher has performed the role incredibly well, with Jurgen Klopp even declaring him “the best number two in the world” after winning the Carabao Cup against Chelsea in February 2024.

Rising through the academy ranks after joining way back in 2015, leaving Ringmahon Rovers in his Irish homeland, Kelleher has now completed, instrumental in winning, notably, two League Cup titles and more besides.

However, he wants first-team football this summer and Liverpool cannot offer him that. He must be sold, with recent reports suggesting the likes of Aston Villa are interested in making their move as Emi Martinez prepares to leave for pastures new.

With FSG having acted pre-emptively last summer, agreeing a £29m fee with Valencia for Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, 24, there simply isn’t room for Kelleher anymore.

mamardashvili-valencia

As per FBref, Kelleher ranks among the top 1% of goalkeepers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for clean sheet percentage (50%), but only among the top 38% for save percentage, making a comment on the strength of Liverpool’s backline.

He’s still a good goalkeeper, one with the potential to achieve greatness, but he pales in comparison to Alisson, and that’s not to his discredit.

Valencia’s star in front of the net, however, has been cherry-picked due to his potential to reach Alisson’s level. Indeed, having been described as an “absolute monster” of a shot-stopper with a commanding presence by Spanish journalist Paco Polit, capable of making “impossible saves.”

Giorgi-Mamardashvili-Euro-2024-Georgia

He proved his worth and then some during EURO 2024, a veritable wall for a Georgia side whose success in reaching the quarter-finals after beating Portugal led to him being awarded the Best Goalkeeper accolade, and deservedly so.

Already believed to be “one of the best shot-stoppers in Europe” by hawk-eyed talent scout Jacek Kulig, Liverpool might be onto a winner with this one, and it’s understandable that Kelleher should be allowed to search for a new chapter in his career, FSG playing a long game which might just see fans nodding their heads in appreciation of their owners’ shrewdness down the line.

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