Jurgen Klopp has reportedly identified a potential successor to one player who Liverpool are thought to be willing to sell at the right price.
According to The Mirror, Anthony Patterson is on the Reds manager’s radar, with the 23-year-old having turned in a series of impressive performances for Sunderland.
The Merseyside club are believed to be prepared to cash in on the Republic of Ireland international if their £20m asking price is met, with the 25-year-old being a long-term target of former Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers at Celtic.
Despite being two years younger than Kelleher, Patterson has made more than three times the number of senior appearances than his Liverpool counterpart (Transfermarkt), with the boyhood Sunderland fan benefitting from being first-choice at the Wearside club.
A return of eight clean sheets and just 30 goals conceded in 27 Championship appearances this term is very respectable from the 23-year-old (Transfermarkt), even though he’s yet to play at a level higher than the English second tier.
If the Reds are to dispense with the Irishman, it’d be imperative that they only do so once they’ve an adequate successor in the bag, with the Cork native being one of the most reliable second-choice goalkeepers in the Premier League.
At 25 and being unable to displace either Alisson Becker at Liverpool or Gavin Bazunu for his country, Kelleher may view this summer as the right time to try and establish himself as a first-choice pick somewhere else.
It’s a tricky dilemma for the Reds, who won’t want to lose such a dependable presence but may also be reluctant to stand in his way if he wishes to test himself elsewhere, but Patterson would appear to be a solid replacement if it comes to that.
The burning question then is whether the Sunderland stopper would be content to give up a starting role at his boyhood club for being backup to Alisson at Anfield. If he’s willing to accept such a scenario, that could be a big hurdle cleared in LFC’s reported pursuit of him.