Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher has said that his desire is to leave Liverpool and prove himself as the number one goalkeeper at another club.
Kelleher has served as back-up to Alisson Becker in the Liverpool goal for a number of seasons and has generally impressed with his performances when called upon, winning two League Cups in the process.
An injury to Alisson saw the 25-year-old rack up 26 appearances last season, bringing his total number of outings in a Liverpool shirt to 47.
However, any hopes that he is seen as a long-term successor to the Brazilian appear to have been dashed after it was confirmed that Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili will be moving to Anfield from Valencia at the beginning of next season.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Ireland's UEFA Nations League meeting with Greece on Tuesday, Kelleher was adamant that his desire is to leave Liverpool and suggested that the Merseysiders had turned down a number of bids for his services this summer.
'Sometimes from the outside looking in, it looks like that's 100% my decision but at times it's not always in my hands'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 9, 2024
Caoimhín Kelleher confirms he was keen to leave Liverpool this summer but the club rejected a number of bids pic.twitter.com/XpzdyB6KRw
"I've made it clear in the last few years that I want to go and be a number one and play week in, week out," said Kelleher.
"The club's made that decision to get another goalkeeper and from the outside looking in, it looks like they've made a decision to go in a different direction.
"Sometimes from the outside looking in, it looks like that's 100% my decision but at times it's not always in my hands.
"It's been reported that Liverpool have rejected a few bids as well. My ambition is clear that I think I'm good enough and I want to go out and prove it."
While Kelleher may not feature in the plans of new Liverpool manager Arne Slot, he did his international prospects no harm with a strong performance in an otherwise dismal 2-0 loss to England in Ireland's Nations League opener on Saturday.
Gavin Bazunu, the first-choice stopper under former manager Stephen Kenny, remains absent with a long-term injury, meaning that Kelleher is likely to pick up his 16th international cap when Greece come to Dublin for Tuesday's meeting at the Aviva Stadium (7.45pm).
Watch Republic of Ireland v Greece in the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday from 7.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on 2fm's Game On
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