“It’s very difficult to split them.”
Shay Given settles the debate about who should be Ireland’s number one goalkeeper as Stephen Kenny has a headache on his hands with two fantastic options.
Ireland have two outstanding keepers in Caoimhin Kelleher and Gavin Bazunu, both are probably good enough to keep the position, but obviously Kenny can only pick one.
Who better qualified then than the country’s greatest ever shot stopper to give his opinion on the matter.
In an exclusive interview with SportsJOE in association with LeoVegas, the ex-Premier League star explains in detail how he would approach the decision if he were in Kenny’s shoes.
“It’s difficult, they’re both brilliant goalkeepers, they both probably deserve to start but probably you would have to say Gavin because he’s playing – it’s as simple as that, it’s a straightforward kind of answer.
“It’s very difficult to split them and I know you maybe want some sort of headline but it actually genuinely is very hard to split them, and it’s hard to talk too much about Caoimhin because he hasn’t played that much football.
“He’s played the odd game for Liverpool of course, the cup games, and he’s been brilliant when he’s played, so that’s the frustrating thing, because we want to see more of him.
“We want to see him playing regularly, we want him to show his talents and his skills – we’re seeing a lot more of Gavin of course in the Premier League, and Southampton is struggling at the bottom, so he’s getting a bit of work to do, but he’s performing really really well.
“So if I was the manager, you would probably have to go with Gavin on the current position that he’s in. I’ve likened it before to Ray Clemance and Peter Shilton, they’re both brilliant goalkeepers and they were both vying for the England number one jersey for a long number of years.
“These two are obviously still young, so I think they will be a round for a long number of years and they will be fighting for that number one position, which is a great thing for the country.
“It’s a tough decision for Stephen Kenny to make, they’re both very talented players and Caoimhin has played in some big games as well, obviously the France game coming up on Monday is a massive game, and if he did pick Caoimhin you wouldn’t be going ‘Oh my God he’s picked Caoimhin who hasn’t played many games’, you would be going ‘this guy is a talented player, a talented goalkeeper, and he’ll do a brilliant job as well.’
“Purely on Gavin playing at the minute though, he maybe gets the nod just ahead.”
Kelleher’s lack of game time at Liverpool is starting to halt his progress and affect his position in the national team.
Given believes that it’s getting to the point where the Cork native will have to make a big decision about his future at club level.
“I think I’ve been talking about it for a year now because each window goes past and you’re thinking this is the chance, Liverpool were struggling in January, and I thought that was maybe a good window to go now, and play for six months.
“But obviously Liverpool are still in contention for Champions League and Klopp would have though ‘if something happens to Alisson, it would be a really bad mistake.’
“I think at any top club and with any top manager, it gets to a stage where you think ‘I can’t hold him back anymore’, because he is good enough to play at Liverpool, but he’s good enough to play at a lot of clubs in the Premier League as well.
“I’ve said before that there has to be a happy balance for both the player and the club, why not loan him for a season and then come back and compete, but really compete with Alisson.
“Alisson has been a brilliant goalkeeper, and he’s still a top top keeper so it’s very difficult to get your way in there and keep your position in the team.
“I think when the window opens again this summer there will be a lot of talk of Kelleher and will he move and show these people how good he is? Because I really think he’s a top player.”
Related links:
- Shay Given talks about GAA, supporting Donegal and ‘sweeper keepers’
- Stephen Kenny could be without one of Ireland’s star men against France
- Expectation soars as Evan Ferguson captures Irish footballing imagination
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