Caoimhin Kelleher has received some huge praise from Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool’s pre-season trip to Austria.
The Reds duo are both back from injury and gearing up for the new Premier League season having been put through their paces for the last ten days.
Kelleher played the first half of Friday’s 1-0 friendly victory over Mainz after recovering from a knock and it seems his performances in training have really caught the eye of his Dutch team-mate.
In a training clip shared by LFC TV, the 22-year-old pulled off a fine save during a practice session and Van Dijk, watching from behind the goal was clearly impressed.
Turning to the camera, the defender compared Kelleher to a Champions League and Serie A great and said: “Look at Caoimhin though. Absolutely flames. He’s playing like Dida, from the Brazil team.”
That’s some approval from the Reds’ centre-back.
Dida was one of the top goalkeepers on the planet throughout the first decade of this century, playing for Milan between 2000 and 2010.
The Brazilian stopper was in goal as Liverpool fought from three goals down to pull off an incredible comeback in the 2005 Champions League final.
Kelleher is performing well to earn such plaudits and, with Alisson Becker away after playing at the Copa America, the Irishman is the most senior member of the goalkeeping team out in Austria.
It’s a role he is relishing and speaking to Liverpool’s official website, he said: "Yeah, I’m enjoying it. It’s a new challenge for me, it’s a bit more responsibility on myself and yeah, I’m enjoying it. I’m just taking it as it comes, really.”
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