For the last couple of years, most Irish football fans have been keen for Caoimhín Kelleher to leave Liverpool.
It was clear that the Cork man was a hugely talented goalkeeper, usually impressing when given the opportunity at club or international level. However, it was felt that he was at a stage in his career where he needed to be playing on a consistent basis.
That was not going to happen at Anfield due to the presence of Alisson Becker. As well as that, his status as a no. 2 at club level meant it was unlikely that he would overtake Gavin Bazunu as first choice for Ireland.
That dynamic has changed in recent weeks.
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When opportunity came knocking for Caoimhín Kelleher, he grabbed it with both hands. Having shown some inconsistent form earlier in the season during his appearances in the Europa League group stages, his recent string of performances for Liverpool have been extraordinary.
On the back of Alisson's injury, the Cork man has put in some remarkable displays. It could be argued that he was Liverpool's best player in their Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea, while the same could be said during the FA Cup win over Southampton in midweek.
It was thought that Kelleher's stint in the side would last up until the end of March, at which point Alisson would return.
However, comments from Jurgen Klopp during his press conference yesterday suggest that the Brazilian could be set for an even longer period on the sidelines.
There is no real timescale on it, but it is a proper muscle injury. It is not a short one. It is a rather serious one, but not a season-ending injury.
While Liverpool fans will not be pleased to be missing arguably the world's best goalkeeper for a defining period in their season, the scale of opportunity for Caoimhín Kelleher cannot be overstated.
The Ireland international is set to feature in the Premier League title showdown with Manchester City next week, as well as the FA Cup clash with Manchester United on St Patrick's Day. Throw in a Europa League last 16 tie and other key league fixtures, and there is little doubt that this is by far the biggest period of his career up to this point.
His decision to remain at Anfield this season has certainly been justified. Kelleher is currently in the form of his life and is set to play a huge role for one of the world's best teams on the biggest stage.
According to Jurgen Klopp, there was never any chance of the player leaving in the first place. While it was said last summer that Liverpool would consider offers of £20million for the player, the German insists that the club never had any intention of offloading him.
It is completely normal that you have these discussions with players who are ready.
An outfield player in a situation like Caoimhín would never come and talk about these sorts of perspectives because they have ten other positions.
With a goalkeeper it is slightly different, but it never reached a point whereby it was, ‘You have to stay, shut up’. It was just the normal discussion about his future.
The most important thing was we had to help him on the next step in his development by playing more games. I saw it the same way as what the player would say. I think now he would be pretty happy with the decision he made in the summer.
For me there was no chance of him leaving, so I was not interested in who was asking. It would have had to be a proper price to give us a chance of doing something in a difficult market.
It is not like other goalkeepers moving from A to B for £15 million or £20 million. That is totally unrealistic and nonsense.
It was also rumoured that Nottingham Forest offered £15million for the player on deadline day, a bid that was dismissed out of hand.
It will be interesting to see if this situations changes in the summer, especially with Klopp himself set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
For now, Caoimhín Kelleher will be fully focused on helping the club to more silverware over the coming weeks.
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