Arne Slot has given a candid assessment of Caoimhin Kelleher\u2019s departure from Liverpool, admitting that the goalkeeper made the right choice to leave in pursuit of regular playing time.<\/p>\n
Speaking ahead of Liverpool\u2019s clash with Brentford, where Kelleher now plays, Slot discussed the upcoming reunion and why he supports the Irishman\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old ended a decade at Anfield this summer, joining Brentford in a deal worth up to \u00a318 million. In his farewell message, Kelleher expressed his deep gratitude to Liverpool\u2019s staff, teammates, and fans for shaping his career, saying the club and city would \u201calways have a special place in my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the move, Slot told reporters:
\n\u201cMaybe goalkeepers are a bit different, but generally it\u2019s not good for a player to sit on the bench for more than a year or miss too many games. It\u2019s difficult to stay motivated every day. For Caoimh, he\u2019d been doing that for years, and it was the right moment for him to start playing regularly \u2013 and he\u2019s proved that with how well he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The manager\u2019s remarks align with his broader approach, having already allowed several squad players \u2013 including Jarell Quansah and Harvey Elliott \u2013 to leave for more consistent opportunities elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Kelleher has quickly impressed at Brentford, bringing composure and authority to their back line.<\/p>\n
Injury Update<\/p>\n
Ahead of the trip to Brentford, Slot also provided updates on several fitness issues. Jeremie Frimpong is sidelined with a hamstring injury that will keep him out for \u201ca while,\u201d while Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch are both doubtful. Alisson remains unavailable.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlex isn\u2019t too bad \u2013 he\u2019s a question mark for the weekend, same with Ryan,\u201d Slot said. \u201cAlisson is not in the squad tomorrow, and that\u2019ll take a bit longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The match will be an emotional occasion for Kelleher, who made 67 appearances for Liverpool, keeping eight clean sheets and winning both the FA Cup and League Cup. Slot\u2019s comments highlight the ongoing respect and appreciation between the club and one of its most admired academy graduates, even as they meet as opponents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arne Slot has given a candid assessment of Caoimhin Kelleher\u2019s departure from Liverpool, admitting that the goalkeeper made the right choice to leave in pursuit of regular playing time. Speaking ahead of Liverpool\u2019s clash with Brentford, where Kelleher now plays, Slot discussed the upcoming reunion and why he supports the Irishman\u2019s decision. The 26-year-old ended …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":52889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/EOTK-FeaturedHero-Image-Templates-7-3-768x432.jpg.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52888"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52890,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52888\/revisions\/52890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}