glad I have caoImhIn as beck-up no.1
JURGEN KLOPP admits Alisson Becker’s hamstring injury means he is more relieved Nottingham Forest never made a realistic offer for Caoimhin Kelleher in January.
Liverpool keeper Alisson faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines which means Kelleher, 25, will start today.
But the Irish keeper could have been in the home goal if Forest had been successful with a deadline-day bid for him.
Kop boss Klopp said: “For me it was never a discussion, for me there was no chance of him leaving.
“It would have had to be proper price to give us a chance of doing something in a difficult market.”
Kelleher was the Carabao Cup hero last weekend with key saves to deny Chelsea and also pulled off some fine saves to thwart Southampton in the FA Cup in midweek.
He could no doubt start for the majority of Premier League clubs but he has never seriously agitated for a move away.
Klopp added: “With a goalkeeper it is slightly different, but it never reached a point where we had a discussion whereby it was, ‘you have to stay, shut up’.
“You would have to ask him exactly what he thought, but I think now he would be pretty happy with the decision he made in the summer.
“The gap between the first and second goalkeeper cannot be big because the demands are just too big to play the goalkeeper for four years in all the competitions.”
The other end of the pitch is giving Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo problems.
Chris Wood is out with a hamstring injury and fellow strikers Taiwo Awoniyi and Divock Origi have been struggling with groin and calf problems.
Both could start against Liverpool but the Forest boss said: “We have to be careful with Taiwo. He’d a big injury and our main priority is to protect him as much as we can.
“Divock is improving but we need the best version of him.”