Liverpool have been rocked as one of their squad members has strongly suggested he wants to leave Arne Slot’s side in the windows to come.
Liverpool stars on international duty
After Slot’s perfect start to the Premier League season, the majority of his players headed off on international duty to represent their nations. As usual, Mohamed Salah impressed for Egypt despite not finding the back of the net in his side’s 3-0 win over Cape Verde.
Japan international midfielder Wataru Endo also starred in a 7-0 thrashing of China, with the Liverpool man kicking off the scoring in the rout.
Dutch trio Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo all impressed against Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the forward getting on the scoresheet in their 5-2 win.
But it was a less enjoyable international break for some of their teammates; Dominik Szoboszlai endured a tough 5-0 defeat against Germany, while Andy Robertson’s Scotland conceded five times across their two games on the way to a pair of late losses against Poland and Portugal.
There was also defeat for Ibrahima Konate, who was at the heart of defence during France’s 3-1 defeat to Italy and was promptly dropped for their subsequent win over Belgium. At U21 level meanwhile, Jarell Quansah helped England take four points from their two games, keeping a clean sheet against Northern Ireland. Now, the international break has thrown up some disappointing news.
Liverpool youngster wants out after starring for Ireland
That comes as no.2 goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher has confirmed his desire to leave the club, admitting that he tried to do so over the most recent summer transfer window. Kelleher impressed despite ending on the losing side against England in Ireland’s Nations League opener, with Irish publications full of praise for his performance.
One report, who gave him the joint highest rating of any player in the Irish side, explained:
“Kelleher made a super one-on-one save up against Anthony Gordon in the lead-up to Declan Rice’s opener. He could not have done anything more for either of England’s first half goals.
Though his distribution was sometimes lacking, he was a strong presence in the Irish box and was solid when called upon.
Made a brilliant save in injury time to prevent Saka from making it three.”
Meanwhile, his 7.8 rating was far and away the best of any of his side according to popular app sofascore, and one prominent Irish football twitter account dubbed him “the only positive” from the defeat.
But speaking ahead of his side’s second game of the international break, Kelleher emphasised his desire to leave Anfield, with the Reds having agreed to sign Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia next summer.
“I’ve made it clear in the last few years that I want to leave to be number one. Sometimes from the outside looking in, it looks like maybe that’s 100% my decision but maybe at times it’s not always in my hands as well”, he explained.
He had been subject to offers from Nottingham Forest both in January and in the summer window, with the latter offer consisting of £7m plus Matt Turner, a bid which the Reds turned down. Now, they may be forced to finally cave in to his wishes when 2025 rolls around.
