Ireland are certainly blessed at the moment when it comes to goalkeepers.
Gavin Bazunu has been faultless since making his international debut, putting in some remarkable performances and cementing himself as a Premier League no. 1 at Southampton. Mark Travers is also a very promising player, helping Bournemouth to promotion last season.
Then you have Caoimhín Kelleher.
The Cork man is a hugely talented player, possessing all of the traits you want to see in a modern goalkeeper. However, he may find it difficult to surpass Bazunu in the Irish pecking order while he continues to act as a backup at Liverpool.
Robbie Keane says Caoimhín Kelleher could be Liverpool no.1
Caoimhín Kelleher will likely be faced with a difficult decision next summer. He will be 24-years old, meaning regular football should be his priority. Does he make a move elsewhere or continue to develop at one of the world's top clubs?
Becoming first choice at Liverpool is very unlikely, unless Alisson Becker were to make a surprise move away from Anfield.
Speaking to the Liverpool website, Robbie Keane said that Kelleher was good enough to be the club's first choice goalkeeper even if the presence of the Brazilian made it a difficult task.
He's certainly a goalkeeper that should be a No.1 but when you've got a world-class 'keeper in front of you like Alisson, he'll just have to bide his time. Definitely very impressed with him.
We've been very lucky in the Irish team that we have really good goalkeepers. I've definitely been impressed with Caoimhín, just the way he plays – how comfortable, how calm he is in possession of the ball, he has a real presence about him.
As I said before, if he didn't have someone like Alisson in front of him, you'd imagine he possibly could be No.1.
Kelleher played four consecutive games for Ireland back in June, the a rarity up to this point in his career. He might well have to leave Liverpool if that is to become a more common occurrence.
Keane himself knows about making difficult decisions while at Anfield. The striker signed for Liverpool under Rafael Benitez in the summer of 2008, although his new manager was not all that keen on him. The Irishman was repeatedly left on the bench, ultimately leaving and re-signing for Spurs the following January.
Despite how his time on Merseyside went, he said he does not have any regrets.
Obviously my intention was to stay there for as long as possible. But in football, as we know, it happens, things change. Of course I would've liked to stay a little bit longer but it wasn't meant to be.
All we ever want to do is just to play football. I'm not one of these guys that wakes up on a Saturday morning looking forward to sitting on the bench. I was someone who just loved football. Whether it's Sunday league or for Liverpool or Tottenham, you still want to play every game.
The manager had different ideas, which is fine and I've got no problem with that, everyone's got their own ideas and I respect that. But I do reflect on it [with] no regrets.
As I said, I was very fortunate to pull that jersey on and have some good moments – scoring against Arsenal in the Emirates, that half-volley and goals like that. That will always stay forever.
It looks as though Caoimhín Kelleher might have to follow Robbie Keane's example in order for his career to really take off.
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