Harvey Elliott's true feelings on Liverpool transfer dilemma as Arne Slot sent cryptic message

Harvey Elliott has heaped praise on Caoimhin Kelleher following the goalkeeper's man-of-the-match performance for Ireland. The 25-year-old goalkeeper saved Joel Pohjanpalo's penalty and kept out Robin Lod's follow-up in a 1-0 win over Finland at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday night.

Despite England's victory against Greece, Ireland remains third in the Nations League B Group 2. After the game, Kelleher marked the evening with a celebratory post on Instagram, which chalked up almost 50,000 likes and over 400 comments.

"Nice win at home, support was top [three leaf clover and fire emoji]," wrote the Liverpool goalkeeper. The likes of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz all replied to Kelleher's post, but one message from Elliott stood out.

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The Reds midfielder posted a goat emoji under the Irishman's post – a symbol which is often used on social media as a way to describe somebody as the 'greatest of all time'. While Elliott may not have necessarily compared Kelleher to Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, who are widely regarded by many as such, he clearly rates his teammate very highly.

In Alisson Becker's absence, the Liverpool shot-stopper has enjoyed a great vein of form. While Arne Slot's side remain unbeaten with Kelleher between the sticks this season, his run in the first-team could be over once his counterpart returns from injury.

In September, Kelleher revealed that Liverpool are aware that we wants to leave and be a number one. He said: "I've made it clear in the last few years that I want to go and be a No. 1 and play week in, week out."

Then, on the arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili, who Liverpool signed from Villarreal in the summer for £29m, the Irishman added: "The club's made that decision to get another goalkeeper, and from the outside looking in, it looks like they've made a decision to go in a different direction.

"Sometimes from the outside looking in, it looks like that's 100% my decision but at times it's not always in my hands. My ambition is clear that I think I'm good enough, and I want to go out and prove it."

In October, Kelleher doubled down and insisted that he's not satisfied with sitting on the bench. As quoted by the Mirror, he said: "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 maybe give the manager something to think about, give him a headache. But it does work both ways. I played so many times last season - and if you do well your valuation goes up because obviously the club is going to want a good profit.

"I was clear (in the summer) that I wanted to play first-team football, whether that was here or elsewhere. I wanted to be a No.1. That was my thought process - but it’s always been my thought process because obviously I am a football player and like every player, I want to play. I’m not going to enjoy myself or be happy sitting on the bench."

On Alisson's injury, Kellher added: "It comes hand in hand that when you play for a club like Liverpool then other teams will be interested in you I spoke with the manager about the situation.

"But I 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. He’s always going to be No 1 and he’s always going to play. 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. 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. This isn’t the end of the world."