Liverpool Youngster Promoted to First Team Squad After 'Blowing Away' Jurgen Klopp in Training

Caoimhin Kelleher, Liverpool's 19-year-old goalkeeper, has become the latest academy player promoted to Liverpool's first team. 

The Liverpool Echo report that Jurgen Klopp and his backroom staff have been 'blown away' by Kelleher's development, so much so that he is now considered a member of Liverpool's first-team squad. 

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Liverpool's pre-season saw several academy players given the chance to enhance their reputations. Kelleher was handed first-team minutes, but it was Rafa Camacho, Curtis Jones, and Nat Phillips in particular who put in notable performances. 

Since pre-season, Kelleher has stepped up his displays in academy training, moving him above fellow youth keeper Kamil Grabara in the pecking order. Following Loris Karius' loan move to Besiktas, Kelleher is now consideredLiverpool's third-choice goalkeeper behind Alisson Becker and Simon Mignolet. 

Klopp already admitted in pre-season to being a big admirer of Kelleher, saying: "He's an outstanding talent. A very cool boy, very cool with the ball, we saw that in a pre-season game that he played. In front of 100,000 or 60,000, he's not really bothered about that. That's a very important skill. 

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"He was an outfield player in his youth. He's been a goalkeeper for a few years, but he must have been a very good outfield player as well. He has fantastic reactions.

"If nothing serious happens, he has a really fantastic future. I don't know at the moment how many really good goalkeepers Ireland have, but one more isn't a bad thing. I like him a lot and happy to have him in our squad."

Kelleher's development will surely continue as he trains with the first team, but the Irishman will have to stay patient in the hope of making more first team appearances for Liverpool.