James Pearce has said that Liverpool were quite right to reject a ‘nonsensical’ offer for one Reds player towards the end of the summer transfer window.
In August, Nottingham Forest submitted a proposal of £7m plus Matt Turner in exchange for Caoimhin Kelleher, but the Merseysiders had no interest in signing the American goalkeeper (The Athletic).
Speaking on the Walk On podcast, The Athletic journalist was stunned by the ‘bizarre’ offer from the City Ground for a player whose valuation is far higher than what was put on the table.
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Pearce outlined: “To my knowledge the only offers that were forthcoming [for Kelleher] were from Nottingham Forest at the end of the transfer window, and it was £7m plus Matt Turner, who Liverpool had absolutely no interest in.
“Forest came back with a marginally improved offer but again, nothing close to Liverpool’s valuation, which was around the £25m-£30m mark, so I find it a bit bizarre.
“It baffles me, really, that there wasn’t a bigger kind of battle for his signature. Why would you sell Kelleher for £7m plus a backup goalie you don’t even want? That would have been nonsensical.”
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Even with Kelleher having indicated a few months ago that he’s keen to play regular first-team football and would be willing to move on in order to get it, Liverpool would’ve been daft to have accepted Forest’s insultingly low-ball offer.
In today’s market, the Reds are right to value the Irishman in the £25m-£30m bracket, considering his impressive displays when deputising for Alisson Becker in the second half of last season, most notably with a heroic performance in our Carabao Cup final triumph over Chelsea.
The 25-year-old spoke this week of his frustration at not being allowed to leave in the summer, and at the signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili representing another obstacle to his path of featuring regularly at Anfield, but LFC couldn’t let their pants be pulled down with the derisory proposal from the City Ground.
Kelleher’s obvious irritation makes it increasingly likely that he’ll depart sooner rather than later, but Liverpool ought not to let such a reliable goalkeeper slip through their fingers for less than his true worth.
As Pearce says, it’s surprising that there wasn’t more widespread interest in the Republic of Ireland international over the summer, given his proven capability on the big stage.
Once a club comes to the table with a suitable offer, though, the Reds might well accept it then and grant our underappreciated number 62 a fresh start elsewhere.
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