If there was any frustration from Caoimhin Kelleher at dropping out of the Liverpool side last weekend, he answered it in the perfect way.

The Irishman starred during Allison’s recent absence, the highlight of which was saving Kylian Mbappe’s penalty in the win over Real Madrid. But he always knew it would be short-lived and as soon as Liverpool’s No.1 was available again, Alisson went straight back into the team.

Slot said his understudy reacted well to that decision, before Kelleher was immediately reinstated to the team to face Southampton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

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“It's one of the most difficult jobs in football if the first goalkeeper is always available because then you work for the whole season and you hardly ever have the chance to play because you normally don't come in 10 minutes or 15 minutes before the end [of games],” opined the Liverpool boss ahead of the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

“He, unfortunately for us but good for him, has already made quite a lot of minutes, so I think if you make a list of players with the amount of minutes there will be players that have far less playing time than him.

“I think he can look back at the first half of the season for himself as a positive first half of the season. We as a club, of course, hope that all players are available in the second half of the season so he will not make the amount of minutes that he did in the first half.

“But we are really fortunate to have such a great second goalkeeper, that if we need him he is able to do as well as he did.”

And need him, Liverpool did on Wednesday night, as Slot’s pre-match assessment was proved correct. Kelleher could do nothing to stop Cameron Archer’s excellent curled finish just before the hour, but was on hand to superbly palm away an effort from the former Aston Villa man soon after.

The instinctive reaction save was excellent from Archer’s close-range shot, as was the ability to palm the ball away from any of the on-rushing Southampton. It’s the sort of moment that will no doubt lead to further links of a possible transfer in the near future.

Leeds United is reportedly interested, but Kelleher’s stock is so high now that there will no doubt be Premier League clubs keeping an eye on the situation. The 26-year-old will be back on the bench at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, but his days as Alisson’s back-up are surely numbered.