There was a spate of departures from Liverpool during the summer – either on loan or permanently – but Arne Slot will now be glad that one player’s wish to leave wasn’t granted by club chiefs.
Caoimhin Kelleher has made no secret of his eagerness to establish himself as an undisputed number one elsewhere, and he’s not the only goalkeeper who appeared to have an eye on the Anfield exit door while the transfer window was open.
With the Irishman deputising for the injured Alisson Becker and set to be our main man between the sticks until after the November international break at least, Vitezslav Jaros was given a full Reds debut in the Carabao Cup win over Brighton on Wednesday night.
Jaros had asked to leave Liverpool
As noted by The Athletic this morning, the 23-year-old had asked to leave Liverpool during the summer but his request fell on deaf ears.
Andy Jones – the journalist who wrote the article in question – noted that the Czech’s performance at the Amex Stadium last night ‘further justified’ the decision from Anfield chiefs to keep him at the club rather than letting him go.
Slot will be glad that Liverpool held onto Jaros
Slot will indeed be glad that Jaros wasn’t sold, with the 23-year-old making the most of his first Liverpool start to produce some fine saves, most notably the fantastic reactions he showed to keep out Simon Adingra’s header, a stop that Lee Hendrie on Sky Sports rightly lauded as ‘brilliant‘.
The former Sturm Graz loanee will likely resume his place on the substitutes’ bench for the upcoming games against Brighton, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa, with Kelleher set to be restored to the starting line-up, and he could even struggle to make matchday squads once Alisson returns from injury.
With Giorgi Mamardashvili arriving at Anfield next summer, there remains a firm possibility that the Reds might cash in on the Czechia international then. Should they do so, performances like the one he gave against the Seagulls will help to add a few million quid onto his price tag.
For now, we can be glad that Liverpool didn’t cave in when Jaros had asked to leave earlier this year.
