Even in his wildest dreams, the Ireland underage goalkeeper must not have envisioned this one.
Playing with the likes of Salah, Mané, Shaqiri and Fabinho against Manchester United in front of around 100,000 supporters at the Michigan Stadium.
That is the reality for Caoimhin Kelleher as his pre-season with Liverpool’s senior squad takes another interesting turn. Having already featured in friendlies against Blackburn and Manchester City, the 19-year-old is now set to face off against United in America.
Unbelievable to see caoimhin kelleher play 45 min vrs man city last night ⚽️⚽️
— Ringmahon Rangers (@RingmahonRanger) July 26, 2018
Loris Karius, the senior goalkeeper on tour, missed training on Friday and Jurgen Klopp has confirmed to the club’s official website that the German will miss the United match.
“Loris has a little tendon problem in the knee,” said Klopp. “Nothing ruptured or something like that; it’s more that it’s inflamed so we’ll have to see how that settles. It’s not a big thing, but it’s likely he will not play tomorrow.”
That leaves the Reds’ two remaining goalkeepers – Kelleher and fellow academy teammate Kamil Grabara – left to duke it out.
Klopp has yet to decide on who will start off in nets for the International Champions Cup game but he has confirmed that both will feature against Jose Mourinho’s side. He commented:
“The two young boys will feature. It was nice for Caoimhin the other night, and [now] Kamil will have an opportunity as well so it’s good.”
“It’s a big opportunity for them,” the Liverpool boss added. “100,000 people will be more than they’ve played in front of altogether so far, I think! It’s a big difference.
“I haven’t made a decision on who will start, but maybe Kamil because Caoimhin played the last game.”
Kelleher has played football from an early age but only got seriously into goalkeeping at the age of 14. He has played in an U17 European Championship tournament for Ireland and has represent his club at U19 level.
Despite only playing in goal from the age of 14 with Ringmahon Rangers, Ireland underage keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has shone at international level and last week made his first team debut at Liverpool. This is the story so far.. #COYBIG #LFC pic.twitter.com/46J2yCh12Q
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) July 23, 2018
It is likely that both young goalkeepers will get 45 minutes apiece. It could end up being a longer shift for Kelleher if he comes off the bench. United defeated AC Milan in an ICC match, on Wednesday, but it required a 26-penalty shoot-out to separate the sides.
