Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , Irish football legend Shay Given has backed Caoimhin Kelleher to one day become Liverpool 's number one after his impressive season at Brentford .
Given has explained why he is more convinced by Kelleher than Giorgi Mamardashvili , where the Irishman could end up if Liverpool don't come back for him, and why Chelsea need a new goalkeeper now.
The former Ireland international has also assessed Shelbourne 's daunting Ajax tie, and paid an emotional tribute to Mayo 's historic All-Ireland final victory after 75 years.
Caoimhin Kelleher
Are You Surprised Kelleher Hasn't Been Linked With a Big Move?
What's next for Caoimhin Kelleher ? It could all come down to what was agreed between Brentford and Liverpool because I was surprised they were able to sign him for such a relatively small fee. I felt at the time that £12.5 million was a ridiculous deal unless they'd inserted some sort of buyback clause with Alisson well into his 30s now.
If they can bring him back to Anfield just as Manchester City did with James Trafford from Burnley , that may end any talk of Kelleher moving away to other clubs because Giorgi Mamardashvili came in last season and has done okay, albeit he's not lit up the world exactly, so there could still be an opening for Kelleher at Liverpool , and he's done amazingly well at Brentford too. He's one of the reasons why they had such a good season. I expected other clubs to be in for Kelleher , but I think Brentford were really clever because once the window opened they got it done early doors. They didn't wait for things to happen or other clubs to make a move. It was good business from Brentford , but you would assume he has plenty of suitors keen to sign him now for a lot more than £12.5 million.
Kelleher or Mamardashvili to Replace Alisson?
Giorgi Mamardashvili arrived at Liverpool with a big reputation, and he's done okay so far, but I'm still not convinced that he is going to be the future number one after Alisson . I am now even more convinced about Caoimhin Kelleher , given he's proven he can be number one at Brentford and he obviously knows Liverpool inside and out. There's no doubt in my mind that he could come back to the club, and what I like about Kelleher is that he brings a real calmness to everything he does. He never seems fazed or fluffed up about anything. He could make the best save in the world and just get up like nothing has happened and set about organising his defenders for a corner. If that was me, I'd be knee sliding across the 18-yard box!
Kelleher brings that calmness to the team, and I think that's crucial for a goalkeeper, and I think he'll continue to develop as a player too. I hope he stays at Brentford for at least another season. It'll do him no harm. He's proving to everyone that he has what it takes to play regularly every week, and that comes with a different side of pressure than being on the bench and coming in and out of the team. He's already working on other stuff away from the pitch, in the gym and training, to build up his upper body strength to improve and get better, and he will. I only see positive things for the future for Caoimhin .
Where Else Could Kelleher End Up?
Could Chelsea or Newcastle United come in for Caoimhin Kelleher this summer? Possibly. It would depend on Liverpool and whether they can activate any sort of clause to sign him themselves to stop another club picking him up. A lot will depend on Alisson because you wouldn't bring Kelleher back right now if Alisson 's staying for the next two seasons. I think Kelleher would be well suited for Newcastle United right now. I think he'd be well suited for Chelsea too.
Chelsea are the club who have surprised me a little bit by not bringing someone in, and I say that as someone who does like Robert Sanchez . I stuck up for him a lot last season, but he does keep going over old ground with some of the mistakes he makes. He can pull off some unbelievable saves, and you think this guy's the real deal only for him to have a mad rush of blood to the head at the edge of the box and halve someone in two. I feel that signing a new goalkeeper is something that could happen at Chelsea this summer, and if it's not Kelleher , maybe it'll be someone else, but that's a position they need to strengthen in this window, not the next window, but now. Xabi Alonso is in place now, and he might have seen enough from Robert Sanchez . I'm not sure. I definitely think Newcastle and Chelsea want the strength in that position, and Kelleher would be a good signing for either of them.
Shelbourne
How Do You Rate Shelbourne's Chances Against Ajax?
Ajax are not the team they once were, but you would look at that on paper and think that Shelbourne couldn't have got a tougher draw. If they can beat Ajax to make it into the competition proper, that would be incredible, even the financial boost alone. We've seen that with Shamrock Rovers over the years: how you can go on and strengthen your team and build a squad to dominate the Irish league. If Shelbourne can do it, that could be their budget sorted for the next three years.
It's a big opportunity, and the excitement around Shelbourne is massive so that they can go on and do it, but I still think it's such a big ask to beat a side like Ajax over two legs. The thing the Irish sides have in their favour is that these qualifiers fall in the middle of the Irish season, so Shelbourne will go into the games looking sharp, in league form, in their pomp. That's something that can catch out some European teams who are still working on getting back up to match fitness.
Mayo
What Did You Make of Mayo's All-Ireland Final Victory?
I think probably every person apart from those from Kerry would have been supporting Mayo . I'm a Donegal person, and Donegal got knocked out by Dublin this year, and for me there was no doubt about it given the story, and you see all the footage since. I'm sure if I drove down to Mayo from Donegal they'd still be celebrating on the streets of Mayo by the time I got there because it's crazy all the stories about the curse and all that stuff, 75 years on from when they last won it. I think the last guy died a couple of years ago, and now they say the curse has been lifted, in inverted commas, and they've finally gone and won it.
It's just incredible to me because it's an amateur sport and the stadium's packed to the rafters. These players train four or five times a week. They've got jobs, you know, and the dedication and the commitment that you can see in the reaction of the players and their families after the game. It'd have been the equivalent of me winning the World Cup as a player. That's what it means to these guys, especially that group of players. I think it was 11 finals in recent times they'd reached and failed to win, with everyone saying they're cursed, they're jinxed, they're never going to do it. To see the older people who might not have even seen them win in the last 75 years, with the tears of joy in their eyes now that they've actually seen it again, it was simply incredible. You could hear some of the guys on the commentary. They were in tears too with the emotion of it, talking over the pictures and the players and the fans and their reactions.
It shows us all what sport can do to people, you know. Last Sunday, the whole country was at a standstill watching it. All your troubles and worries are gone for that hour and a half or whatever it is, and of course the emotions after the game, off the back of the World Cup , this is why we love it! This is why we love our football, and this is why we love our Gaelic football, why we love all sports. You can lose yourself in the whole thing. It's a great credit to Mayo that they've got so many young players as well, coming up from the under-21 team. It's just an incredible story, really. It was some performance too because the game was mental. They were seven points behind and found something within themselves to go and say we're not giving this up.
A lot of the Kerry fans stayed at the end of the match too. Normally, the fans of the defeated team are long gone, but they stayed and clapped for them in the end, in awe and respect to recognise the Mayo team and their fans. It shows what sport is about, especially amateur sport, but at the same time they were there watching history happening in front of them. Then there was the homecoming back in Mayo with the stadium packed to the rafters again, with the lads jumping on the back of the lorry. Incredible.
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