Arne Slot responds to Caoimhin Kelleher going public with Liverpool frustrations (original) (raw)
Liverpool's deputy goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher revealed his frustration at a summer transfer not materialising, with this weekend's opponents seeing bids knocked back
Liverpool manager Arne Slot spoke to the press ahead of the game with Nottingham Forest
Arne Slot insists he is not worried by Caoimhin Kelleher’s claims he wants to be a first-choice goalkeeper.
Kelleher spoke during international duty with the Republic of Ireland and he was frustrated that Liverpool rejected a second bid from Nottingham Forest two weeks ago. Kelleher could have been lining up at Anfield with Nottingham Forest on Saturday if Liverpool had accepted the offer and he says he wants to be a No 1.
Liverpool would not let Kelleher go because Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili will not arrive from Valencia until next summer and they did not want to leave themselves short in the goalkeeping department.
Slot says he would be more concerned if Kelleher had come out and claimed he was happy sitting on the bench.
“I would be really worried if a player comes out saying, ‘I don’t care about playing first-team football. I like it so much on the bench that I want to stay there for the rest of my life’. That would be a bigger worry for me,” said the Reds head coach.
“So it’s normal that they that they want to play, but it’s also normal that a club like this, that tries to compete for trophies, has more than 11 players who can play.
“As long as they accept their situation, not accepting in a way I don’t care that I’m not playing, but accepting it by helping the team whenever they have to, then it’s a good place to be and Caoimhin has shown many times in the past few years and even in pre-season, that he’s ready when he need him.
“So it’s a good thing that he wants to play and who knows if he’s going to play for us in the future. At this moment, I think it’s quite clear that Alisson is the No 1, but last season he played many games.
Caoimhin Kelleher admitted he was frustrated to not be granted a summer exit (
Image:
RTE Sport)
“So it’s a normal situation for a player to be in, if you’re not playing and you want to play, but he handles the situation really well.”
Slot insists Alexis MacAllister will be fit to face Forest after training on Thursday, despite picking up a knock on international duty with Argentina. "Yeah, he was out in the last game, but he trained yesterday,” said Slot. “I’m expecting Macca to be with us tomorrow.”
Harvey Elliott will be out until the end of October with his broken foot and Slot says his injury is a huge disappointment for him and the club. “Harvey is a big disappointment for him, but not only for him, also for us,” he said.
“Because, OK, he didn’t play that much in the first three games, but he played a lot in pre-season and he showed himself really well.
“So of course, if he had stayed fit, he would have had a lot of playing time in the upcoming fixtures, but now he isn’t and that gives a chance to someone else.
Federico Chiesa could make his Liverpool debut against Forest (
Image:
Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“So it’s first and foremost a blow for himself, and in the end also for us because I think availability is important in the face of this part of the season where we play seven games in 22 days.
“I think so it’s a blow for the both of us, but he will work as hard as always to come back in the best possible way.”
Slot says Federico Chiesa could be involved against Forest and he has trained well during the international break. “Federico has trained with the team now three or four times, so let’s see how he does today and which decision I make because we have more than 20 players to choose from,” he said.
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