Liverpool have rejected a £15m bid from Premier League club Nottingham Forest for back-up goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher on deadline day.
The Republic of Ireland international has been Alisson Becker’s long-term understudy at Anfield, seeing much of his gametime in the Carabao Cup throughout his six years in the Liverpool first team. To date, Kelleher has mustered 33 senior appearances at the club – just seven in the Premier League.
Now 25 years old, much has been made of Kelleher’s need to play consistent football be it at Liverpool or elsewhere. Speaking prior to the 2023 summer transfer window, then-Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny led calls for the goalkeeper to leave Liverpool in search of minutes.
“I think he’s ready to go and play regularly because he needs to. It’s hard to leave Liverpool, it’s such an iconic club, but he’s not so young now. He’s 24 [now 25] and he needs to play and he knows that.”
Reports from the Daily Mail have revealed that Kelleher has been given a last-minute opportunity to make a move this January, with Nottingham Forest bidding £15m for his services.
That bid has been swiftly rejected, as Liverpool are said to believe Kelleher is worth over £20m.
Forest have been extremely active in recent days in their search for a new starting goalkeeper. The relegation-threatened club have been heavily linked with Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone and Rangers’ Jack Butland, however it remains to be seen if they can get a deal over the line.
Along with their search for a goalkeeper, Forest have also completed the loan signings of two attacking players in Giovanni Reyna from Borussia Dortmund and Football Manager favourite Rodrigo Ribeiro from Sporting CP.
