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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Liverpool's New No 2? Mamardashvili Eyes Alisson's Throne After Kelleher Exit
Caoimhin Kelleher's Farewell and the Goalkeeping Transition at Liverpool Beyond the Backup Label Liverpool has rarely paused to grieve the departure of a second-choice goalkeeper. Yet Caoimhin Kelleher was never your average understudy. His £18million ($24.3m) move to Brentford may seem routine in modern football finance, but the emotional reaction surrounding it tells a deeper tale — of a player who defied the typical backup narrative to carve out a reputation of substance and style. Advertisement Kelleher arrived from Cork's Ringmahon Rangers in 2015 with promise, but not prestige. What followed was a steady rise into Ireland's standout goalkeeper, a trusted custodian for club and country. Though he remained in the shadow of Alisson for much of his Liverpool career, he stepped out when called upon and never looked out of place. Photo IMAGO With only 25 Premier League starts across six seasons, it's tempting to view his contribution as peripheral. But in truth, Kelleher's presence often proved pivotal. His calm demeanour, sharp reflexes, and quiet confidence became integral whenever Liverpool's No 1 was unavailable. He earned the mantle of the Premier League's best backup goalkeeper — a moniker both complimentary and limiting. Championship Contributions and Final Flourish Kelleher's timing, in both his saves and career moments, has always been notable. That he played a bigger part in Liverpool's 2024–25 Premier League title win felt deserved. Injuries to Alisson opened the door, and Kelleher walked through with assured hands and unshakeable poise. He featured ten times during the title run-in — three appearances in the Champions League and seven in the Premier League — as Alisson recovered from a hamstring issue. Advertisement His standout performance came in the 2-0 Champions League triumph over Real Madrid. That evening under the lights, he denied Kylian Mbappe from the penalty spot and made a series of crucial saves to preserve the clean sheet. He showed again what many already believed — that he could be a No 1 elsewhere. Even his mistake in the 3-3 draw against Newcastle United at St James's Park became a talking point spun into affection by Liverpool supporters. 'Without that draw, we wouldn't have won the league at Anfield,' some joked, pointing to the reshuffled fixture list that ended so gloriously in front of the Kop. But humour could not hide reality. 'For years, he's made it clear that he wants more,' the original piece from The Athletic noted, and rightly so. Sitting in Alisson's shadow was never going to satisfy a goalkeeper of Kelleher's ambition and ability. Brentford offers him the minutes he craves and a platform to prove he's more than a reliable reserve. Mamardashvili's Moment Arrives While Kelleher departs with admiration and applause, Liverpool's attention turns toward his successor. Giorgi Mamardashvili, a £29million recruit from Valencia, is already in place. Though he remained in Spain last season, the Georgian is now poised to step into the Liverpool squad for pre-season under Arne Slot. Advertisement Mamardashvili is no stranger to expectation. His performances for Georgia at Euro 2024 caught widespread attention. Liverpool acted swiftly, aware they were not the only ones watching. There were whispers of Alisson interest from Saudi Arabia, and though that pursuit has cooled, contingency planning was a necessity. At just 24, Mamardashvili is entering the most defining stretch of his career. He has been learning English, integrating into the club's culture from afar, and mentally preparing for the competition ahead. He wants to play, not just participate, and while Alisson remains Liverpool's No 1 for now, there is an unspoken inevitability to the transition ahead. 'Injury concerns over Alisson's record persist,' notes the original report. Last season's three-month layoff was not an isolated issue. Liverpool's sporting director, Richard Hughes, understood the risks and retained three senior stoppers for depth. That gamble paid off. Now, with Vitezslav Jaros eyeing a loan in one of Europe's top five leagues and Harvey Davies stepping up as third choice, the structure is clear. Should Alisson suffer another setback, it will be Mamardashvili who takes the gloves. A Future in Safe Hands Liverpool believe Mamardashvili has the temperament, talent, and technical prowess to one day replace Alisson outright. He thrives in possession-based systems, where quick distribution and positional intelligence are key. His stint at Valencia may have been marred by inconsistency — they finished 12th in La Liga — but he was often let down by a struggling defence, not his own shortcomings. Advertisement In fact, the environment at Liverpool could play to his strengths. A higher line, fewer shots faced, and a more dominant team structure may allow Mamardashvili to flourish. The club views him as a project worth investing in and believes he will become one of Europe's top stoppers. Whether that transition happens this season or in the next few years will depend on performance, patience, and perhaps pragmatism from both player and manager. For now, Mamardashvili is expected to challenge, not displace. Alisson's status remains intact, but his heir is no longer hypothetical — he's here, waiting. And that's the great paradox of modern football's goalkeeping hierarchy. Only one can start, but the depth behind must be of elite standard. Liverpool had that in Kelleher and hope to maintain it with Mamardashvili. The dynamic between them and Alisson will shape much of what unfolds in the new season. Legacy, Loyalty and Looking Ahead Kelleher leaves with five major medals and memories to match. His League Cup contributions in 2022 and 2024 were vital, even if he watched on for the 2019 Champions League and the 2022 FA Cup latter stages. His legacy is not in quantity of games, but quality of character and performance. He stood tall when Liverpool needed him most. Advertisement 'Might have crumbled without their first-choice goalkeeper,' the article rightly stated. But they did not, and in many ways, that was down to Kelleher's calming influence. As Arne Slot begins his reign, decisions over who starts in goal will be as critical as any tactical tweak. Alisson is the proven champion, Mamardashvili the emerging contender. The balance of experience and potential is finely poised. One leaves, one arrives, but the thread connecting them is clear — Liverpool have prioritised their goalkeeping future with the same rigour they have applied across the pitch. Kelleher departs with dignity and gratitude. Mamardashvili steps forward with belief and ambition. And Alisson, still one of the finest in the world, remains the benchmark both must reach. In the goalkeeping union, respect is paramount. For Liverpool, the changing of the guard has begun, but the standard will not drop. It never does.
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Ireland finish behind Slovenia despite victory in Cork
Despite losing 1-0 to their hosts, it was mission accomplished for Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Tuesday evening, Ireland finishing level on points with their visitors in their Nations League group, but behind on goal difference. Slovenia are, then, promoted to League A, but if Carla Ward's charges are to join them, they must win a play-off in October, the draw for which takes place on Friday. ' There is still a lot of work to do, but the future is bright ,' the manager insisted after, Gavin Cummiskey reporting from Cork and Malachy Clerkin rating the players . A few miles down the road from Páirc Uí Chaoimh, champagne might well have been flowing. Muireann Duffy spoke with Ringmahon Rangers chairman Paul Higgins after confirmation of their former player Caoimhín Kelleher's move from Liverpool to Brentford . The deal could eventually be worth €21 million - and 20 per cent of that will go to Ringmahon. Jackpot. Gavin, meanwhile, looks ahead to the men's friendly against Senegal on Friday, when Troy Parrott, Adam Idah and Evan Ferguson will hope to be among the goals, and we also hear from midfielder Jason Knight and assistant manager John O'Shea ahead of the game. In rugby, Gerry Thornley reports on something of a coup for Connacht, namely the appointment of Stuart Lancaster as coach , and he also looks at the likely inclusions in the Irish squad that will be named today for the upcoming Tests away to Georgia and Portugal. READ MORE Albert Heenop brings a very, very alternative view from South Africa on the carry-on of Jaden Hendrikse and co during the URC shoot-out against Munster. 'The game needs entertainers, like Hendrikse, even if they occasionally ruffle some feathers,' he writes. 'Textbook 'shithousery',' is how Gordon D'Arcy describes it in his column. 'That unapologetic, win-at-all-costs mentality is woven into the DNA of South African rugby ,' he says. Under defence coach Jacques Nienaber, Leinster 'will have tried to adopt some of that Springbok edge'. It will be tested by Glasgow Warriors on Saturday, James Ryan raring to go in the URC semi-final after an injury-interrupted season. In Gaelic football, Darragh Ó Sé writes about the game's great 'decision-makers', like Michael Murphy, Con O'Callaghan, David Clifford and Rory Grugan . 'They're worth their weight in gold to their managers,' he says, the absence of O'Callaghan against Armagh on Sunday playing no small part in a 'fiasco' of a performance by Dublin. In hurling, Gordon Manning talks to former Leinster rugby hopeful and now Laois captain David Dooley ahead of Sunday's Joe McDonagh Cup final against Kildare, and he also has a word with Kilkenny's Adrian Mullen in the build-up to the Leinster final against Galway. 'Munster hurling finals always come with the blessings of posterity and tradition, whereas Leinster bear the burdens of pale comparison ,' writes Seán Moran in his column. Still, you'd imagine Kilkenny and Galway will be quite up for it. TV Watch : TNT Sports continues its French Open coverage today, and there are four highly tasty quarter-finals to enjoy - Madison Keys v Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva v Lois Boisson, Jannik Sinner v Alexander Bublik and Alexander Zverev v some lad called Novak Djokovic. Later, Virgin Media Three has the Nations League semi-final between Germany and Portugal (8.0).
New York Times
12 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
How Caoimhin Kelleher landed an Irish grassroots club a cash windfall that could last ‘100 years'
The Red Cove Inn will be busy tonight if Ringmahon Rangers win their final game of the campaign. Ringmahon are an Irish grassroots club, based in the southside of Cork. They play in the Munster Senior League — the Republic of Ireland's third tier of football — and it has been quite the season. Tonight, they are aiming to secure a 10th trophy of the season at adult level when they face local rivals Avondale United in yet another cup final. Advertisement Ray O'Mahony, Ringmahon's club sponsor of 25 years and owner of the Red Cove Inn, a 10-minute walk from their pitch near the shore of Lough Mahon, is preparing for a night of celebration. Yet for once, the football will not be the main topic. With former Ringmahon youngster Caoimhin Kelleher moving to Brentford from Premier League champions Liverpool this week, the club are set to receive the biggest-ever sell-on windfall for an Irish outfit, and it's the story everyone is talking about. Kelleher has put this little-known club on the map, but it was the smart thinking of club secretary Sean Fitzgerald, who insisted on inserting a 20 per cent sell-on clause when the goalkeeper moved to Liverpool for a modest five-figure sum in 2015, that has made a real difference. Congratulations to Caoimhin Kelleher who officially signed for @LFC last night well done to Caoimhin & his family — Ringmahon Rangers (@RingmahonRanger) April 16, 2015 Both Fitzgerald and his chairman, Paul Higgins, told The Athletic that they are waiting for further information from Liverpool before finding out the exact amount they stand to receive. But given Kelleher joined Brentford for an initial £12.5million ($16.9m) potentially rising to £18m, it will eclipse the record previously set when Shamrock Rovers received around €2m (£1.7m; $2.3m) of the fee Southampton paid Manchester City for Gavin Bazunu in 2022. Sean says passionately that the money is going to be life-changing for a club of its size. 'This money is going to be there for my kids, and my kids' kids and then hopefully for the next 100 years,' he says. Funds are likely to be allocated towards bolstering facilities at Ringmahon Park, with a full-size artificial pitch expected to go alongside the nine-a-side pitch that was installed in 2022. To do that, the club needs to obtain extra land and will first have to discuss plans with the local council. Advertisement 'It's going to take some time,' Fitzgerald adds. 'Some people think that the money will just land in the account and then we can start building everything around the pitch, but it won't be like that. It will be for our academy, for our five-year-olds in the future, so all the young boys and girls can have the best facilities in the future.' Ringmahon Rangers were founded in 1951 by a group of friends who kicked balls around the streets of Mahon's housing estate. Sean's father John — then aged 14 — played in the first ever team and later became secretary, holding the role for 60 years. 'We're a really close community who have got each other's backs,' says Sean. 'Ringmahon is the focal point, where you go at 8am in the morning at the weekend and see kids who will still be there until 10pm at night. Ray, who runs the pub, is a real gentleman. He'll always host opponents and make sure the kids have food so the adults can enjoy their Guinness.' Kelleher, who came from a quiet family, played most of his underage football at the club, which now caters for male and female teams, from under-7s to seniors. His back story is well told — he started as a centre-forward at Ringmahon, where he scored 20 to 30 goals a season before becoming a goalkeeper at the age of 14 after the first-choice decided at short notice that he did not want to play for his team anymore. Another box ticked for former Ringer Caoimhin Kelleher tonight. Handed the captains armband in tonights @LFC game . What an unbelievable footballing journey he is on,and long may it continue. Massive congratulations from everyone at the club to Caoimhin and his family. — Ringmahon Rangers (@RingmahonRanger) September 27, 2023 The rise from there was rapid and Fitzgerald started taking calls from a host of English clubs who noticed his talent. Kelleher trained at Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa but by the time Manchester United came along, they were too late — much to the amusement of Fitzgerald, a Liverpool fan who was able to haggle with the club he supported for what proved to be a modest fee of just £30,000. Advertisement Inserted into the deal were clauses around international debuts and other performance-related metrics. The sums received since have helped contribute towards an extension of the clubhouse as well as the upgrading of grass pitches, but no doubt this next windfall will be the most beneficial. Fitzgerald, who works as a volunteer at the club alongside his day job as a pipe fitter welder, recalls the time when he was negotiating with Liverpool. 'My boss was a mad soccer man and he knew what was going on, so he used to let me go to the toilet or out to the car on my lunch break so I could send emails,' he laughs. 'I was back and forth with Liverpool for two weeks until they came back and said, 'We'll sign the contract and just get it over with.' Looking back, jeez, I did okay.' Both Fitzgerald and Higgins say the interest in the club this week has been overwhelming. Ringmahon Rangers has produced a number of other players, including Sunderland's Alan Browne and the two Umeh brothers — Franco, who plays at Crystal Palace, and Jaden, who is on the books at Portuguese club Benfica — yet nothing compares to the publicity gained from Kelleher's rise. It's a club at the heart of the community and brings the small parish in Cork together. This is especially the case after such a successful season. The seniors have reached the final of every cup competition they entered, and the junior teams — coached by former players — have also won a stack of trophies. 'The only problem with the great season and all these celebrations are the hangovers that follow,' Sean said, laughing. 'It's not easy telling my wife that we have a final every week!' Tonight, though, the celebrations will be on a whole other level, regardless of the result against Avondale.
New York Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Mamardashvili v Alisson: Could there really be a battle to be Liverpool's No 1?
It's rare that such an outpouring of emotion should follow the exit of a backup goalkeeper. The understudy stopper is often a forlorn figure, a guy simply there to make up the numbers and occasionally cover in times of need. Yet over the years, Caoimhin Kelleher has become much more than a bit-part player at Liverpool, which is why news of his £18million ($24.3m) move to Brentford yesterday has been met with an equal degree of sadness and celebration. Advertisement This was a man, signed from Cork-based Ringmahon Rangers in 2015, who steadily became Ireland's standout goalkeeper and was clearly good enough to be an established No 1. He filled in admirably whenever Alisson was absent and earned the undisputed tag of the best backup goalkeeper in the Premier League. If it wasn't for the continued brilliance of the Brazilian, then Kelleher's journey at Liverpool might have been different. Although he leaves highly decorated with five major medals, his contributions have been limited to just 25 Premier League starts in six seasons. For years, he's made it clear that he wants more. Perhaps it was fitting that he played more of a role in winning the 2024-25 Premier League title. Liverpool's League Cup wins in 2022 and 2024 were made possible through Kelleher's vital contributions, but he watched on during the Champions League win in 2019 and in the latter stages of the FA Cup success in 2022, which are the other trophies he has won. By playing 10 games at the back end of 2024 (three in the Champions League and seven in the Premier League) when Alisson sustained a hamstring injury that ruled him out for almost three months, Kelleher reminded those watching of his high standards. His safe pair of hands helped build confidence when other clubs might have crumbled without their first-choice goalkeeper. In the 2-0 Champions League win over Real Madrid, it was Kelleher who pulled off multiple saves to keep a clean sheet, as well as denying Kylian Mbappe from the penalty spot. Such was his importance to the team that some Liverpool fans even turned his mistake against Newcastle United in the league in December into a positive, quipping that without it — and the subsequent two dropped points in the 3-3 draw at St James's Park — the fixture schedule meant Liverpool would not have been able to win the league at Anfield in April. Advertisement On a more serious note, there was an acceptance that as much as so many people wanted him to stay, Kelleher needed to play every week rather than every time Alisson was absent, and that leaving this summer was inevitable unless there was a significant change. To earn £18million from a player who was heading into the final year of his contract also represents good business for Liverpool, especially as Giorgi Mamardashvili is already signed up as the next man in line. Yet it's clear that Mamardashvili, signed from Valencia for £29million last summer (he then stayed at the Spanish club last season), will face the same issues, at least initially, in that Alisson remains the first choice for head coach Arne Slot. Mamardashvili, who has sights on becoming the best goalkeeper in the world himself in the future, wants to play rather than sit on the sidelines and is awaiting an update from Liverpool on how often he is expected to be used next season. Unless a decision is made to send him out on loan — a move that now looks unlikely — the 24-year-old will have to bide his time and try to work his way into the team. He has been learning English and preparing for life at Liverpool for some time and is confident about taking up his position in the first-team squad when he returns for pre-season training at the start of July. Breaking up the best goalkeeping department in the country in this way carries an element of risk for Liverpool. Third-choice stopper, Vitezslav Jaros, is also likely to leave this summer as he seeks a loan move to a club within the top-five big leagues of Europe after a year watching from the sidelines. Harvey Davies, 21, will fill in as the third choice if Jaros does head out on loan. But it is Mamardashvili who will be going head-to-head with Alisson for the No 1 spot. Liverpool believe Mamardashvili has the qualities to become the next starting goalkeeper and the long-term replacement for Alisson when he eventually moves on. There are also ongoing concerns over Alisson's injury record after he missed those two months with a hamstring problem in 2024-25. Advertisement Last summer, sporting director Richard Hughes made the decision to keep three senior goalkeepers on board for that very reason and it paid dividends, with Jaros providing cover for Kelleher when he held the fort in November and December. Now if Alisson sustains an injury, the pressure will fall on Mamardashvili to fill in, a highly rated and experienced international, but still one who is untested at Premier League level. Liverpool signed him as a matter of urgency last summer. They had tracked him for months but, after his standout performances for Georgia at the European Championship last summer, the club felt they needed to act quickly with so many eyes watching. Interest in Alisson from Saudi Arabia also fuelled the need for succession planning, just in case any pursuit turned into a formal process. It's understood that interest has cooled, and Alisson's contract still has one year left to run plus another 12-month option in the club's favour. While Mamardashvili's form was not as impressive for Valencia this season as it had been for Georgia, he was part of a team struggling at the foot of the table for a large part of the season (they finished 12th in La Liga), which had a knock-on effect. Playing at Premier League champions Liverpool, a team who face fewer shots at goal and have more possession, will suit his game. It is why he's earmarked as the club's man for the future.
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘I'm buzzing, I'm really happy to be here' – Caoimhín Kelleher signs five-year deal with Brentford
Ireland goalkeeper claims leaving Liverpool wasn't 'very difficult' as Cork club Ringmahon Rangers set for record €3m windfall from move Caoimhín Kelleher says it was an easy decision to quit Liverpool and move to Premier League rivals Brentford as he was eager to secure first team football on a regular basis. The Cork native today ended his long association with the Anfield club as he agreed on a five-year deal, costing the Bees a reported fee of €21million, with his schoolboy club Ringmahon Rangers set to earn a €3m cut of the deal.
