Arne Slot made Liverpool preference clear - so this is where my head's at now

When Caoimhin Kelleher comes to revisit his best days as a Liverpool player, Chelsea will feature prominently for the goalkeeper. It was well over two years ago now since the Republic of Ireland international saw his likeness etched onto the goalkeepers' wall at the AXA Training Centre thanks to his heroics against the Londoners in the Carabao Cup final of 2022.

Having kept out Thomas Tuchel's side at Wembley across 120 minutes, Kelleher then confidently dispatched the winning penalty in the resulting shootout to seal the club's ninth League Cup in dramatic circumstances.

Two years later, events in the national stadium in the same showpiece final, were arguably even more sensational when Virgil van Dijk's extra-time header gave an injury-riddled and inexperienced Reds side the victory against Chelsea once more.

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With two Carabao Cup medals in the cabinet, it's inconceivable that those days won't feature in Kelleher's thoughts when he finally calls time on his spell with the Reds, whenever that may now be.

“It’s been brilliant every time I’ve played them, to be fair," Kelleher says. "Two finals as well. Happy memories. Hopefully there will be more.

"Obviously the penalty shoot-out is the main one, but last season was even more enjoyable the way it went with the young lads from the academy coming one. That was special for everyone, backs against the wall and winning in extra time.

“To play one of the biggest teams in England in a final, a big occasion, yeah, it gets a lot of attention from the world. So the first final was the first time I have been in the limelight and spotlight, as such. It was a good start for my career.”

But had the Irishman been granted his wish over the course of the summer transfer window, he would not have had the opportunity to add another Chelsea chapter to his story this weekend.

Kelleher could easily have been lining up elsewhere this weekend after airing his ambitions to go and become a first-choice goalkeeper to Anfield officials earlier this year. Accepting of the fact that Alisson Becker remained in place as the No.1 at Liverpool, the former Ringmahon Rangers shot-stopper did his best to remain diplomatic in public but, with a heavy heart, clubs were invited to test the Reds' resolve.

Nottingham Forest saw a bid rejected in January before they returned late in the summer transfer window and having left it until the closing hours, perhaps having privately been made aware of Kelleher's eagerness to kick-start his career away from backup status, an offer of what was believed to be about £7m plus Matt Turner as a makeweight, was put forward as a proposal.

It was dismissed in no uncertain terms by Liverpool, who, while no doubt sympathetic to Kelleher's cause, refused to offload a goalkeeper they viewed as far more valuable than what was a derisory sum.

With Alisson now set for an extended spell on the sidelines, following a hamstring injury, the wisdom behind the decision to keep Kelleher, and the brutal nature of it, has made itself known somewhat earlier than many would have wanted at Anfield.

Having played as many as 26 times last season for Klopp, including a career-high 10 in the Premier League, the opportunity to add to that tally has cropped up again, reinforcing Liverpool's decision to keep hold of a player who might perhaps be becoming increasingly frustrated at being labelled as one of the best backups around.

“I spoke with the manager about the situation - but it was quite clear before he came in and it was never going to change because the fact is that I am up against Alisson and he’s one of the best in the world, so he’s always going to be No 1 and he’s always going to play," he added.

“There were other factors, like negotiations with clubs as well as Liverpool needing to be happy. At the end of the day, it just didn’t materialise and I didn’t get a move.

“But it’s not the worst thing in the world to stay at a club like Liverpool. You get opportunities to play because we’re in so many competitions as well. There are so many games that you are going to play. This isn’t the end of the world.”

Asked when his mentality changed from being happy to provide backup to harbouring more realistic hopes of playing every week, the Irishman says: "I think when I was coming through the academy and trying to work my way up, obviously when you first get into the number two positions you're happy and it's progress and you're going forward.

"I was getting my opportunities to start playing for the first team and getting some games. I think anything after a while, maybe after doing a few seasons of a similar thing, you want to keep pushing forward and keep going to the next level in your career.

"Obviously I've played a lot of games now as well and shown my level. So I think for me, I'm ambitious and I want to do as well as I can in my career. The next step for me is to be playing week in, week out and playing every week."

It's over five years now since Kelleher made his first-team debut under Jurgen Klopp, in a Carabao Cup win at MK Dons. Ironically, that bow perhaps only came about due to an injury to Alisson, who was sidelined with a calf problem in September 2019.

With Adrian being trusted to fill in for Premier League duty at the time having recently joined as an experienced free agent, it was decided that Kelleher would keep goal at Stadium MK by Klopp, who watched on as his young keeper kept a clean sheet in Milton Keynes by denying Jordan Bowery with a superb close-range save.

Turning 26 next month, Kelleher still finds himself in that same spot; playing second fiddle to the vaunted Alisson. He accepts now is the time to seek first-team opportunities elsewhere but before that, the attention has turned to a string of vitally important fixtures for Arne Slot's side over the next few weeks, starting, naturally, with Chelsea.

"We are at that stage where he doesn’t need to say anything to me," Kelleher says of his relationship with Alisson. "I know what I need to do. It has been beneficial for me the last few years training with someone of such high quality. You obviously learn from that and it brings you on.

"First and foremost he is a team-mate and I am good mates with Ali to be fair, we are close so sent him a text to say sorry about the injury. It is not nice for him and I don’t like to see that happen to anyone to be honest. But like you say, it gives me the opportunities to play some games as well which for me is a good thing.

"Obviously my intention is to do as well as I can and show my ability. That is where my head is at with the situation. 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. If I play so well, how can he take me out, something like that. That is where my head is at, just to go in and try to do as well as I can to put some pressure on at least.

“It does work both ways. I played so many times last season and if you do well your valuation goes up. Obviously the club is going to want to get a good profit. But like I said before, there are a lot of opportunities here too."