BBC pundit urges Arne Slot to ‘stick by’ Liverpool ace who’s been ‘extraordinary’ this season | OneFootball

Arne Slot has been urged to ‘stick by’ one player who’s been ‘extraordinary’ for Liverpool this season.

Reds fans may have been fearing the worst when Alisson Becker went off injured in the win over Crystal Palace in early October, but since then Caoimhin Kelleher has stepped up exceptionally for the team, producing at least one big moment in almost every match over the past two months.

The LFC head coach has said that the Brazilian would come straight back into the team once he’s fully recovered, although the 46-year-old told reporters on Tuesday that he won’t rush his number 1 into action due to the quality of the Irishman’s performances.

Nevin pleads for Slot to keep faith in Kelleher

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Pat Nevin has called for Slot to keep playing the Republic of Ireland international unless he were to make a costly error for Liverpool.

The former Chelsea winger said: “Caoimhin Kelleher has been extraordinary. If you take him out when Alisson is back, what is that going to do to Kelleher? They should stick by Kelleher until he makes a mistake.”

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Slot will soon face big selection dilemma

When Alisson is fit enough to start for Liverpool, it’ll leave Slot with the definition of a pleasant selection headache.

It wouldn’t be farfetched to state that Kelleher is in contention to be the best goalkeeper in the Premier League so far this season, nor to claim that the Reds’ long-serving number 1 has been the world’s best in his position in recent years.

A BBC poll asking which of the two ‘keepers should start when both of them are fit threw up a rather interesting result, with 61% responding that, like Nevin, they’d stick with the Irishman.

It’ll be a tough call for Slot to make once Alisson is back to full fitness, and reinstating him immediately could risk pushing Kelleher towards the exit door, with the 26-year-old having been vocal about his determinaton to be a fixed first-choice starter at this stage of his career.

He’s proven beyond all doubt that he’s more than good enough to start regularly in the Premier League, but the question is whether he’ll get to do that at Liverpool for much longer. For now, let’s just be grateful that we have two such outstanding options in one of the most crucial areas on the pitch.