Virgil van Dijk 'a big fan' of goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher

Kai Havertz of Chelsea battles for possession with Virgil van Dijk and Caoimhin Kelleher of Liverpool. Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Virgil van Dijk admits he’s a big fan of Caoimhín Kelleher after the Cork goalkeeper deputised in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

Kelleher was thrust into action for his fourth Premier League appearance when Alisson was confirmed before kick-off as one of three suspected Covid-19 positive cases among the squad, along with manager Jurgen Klopp.

Dutch defender Van Dijk has previously spoken highly of the custodian and has no fears about him maintaining his place in the team while the first-choice Brazilian is out of action.

Liverpool have their two-legged EFL semi-final against Arsenal, sandwiched in between by an FAI Cup third round tie with Shrewsbury, over the next 10 days.

“Yeah, definitely. I’m quite a big fan of him,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports about his faith in twice-capped Kelleher.

“He is a fantastic goalkeeper. He is learning from the best, in my opinion, with Alisson.

“His presence is good, he is confident on the ball and he is making good saves as well.

“That’s good and we need him right now and for the next games because of obviously the Covid cases.

“Unfortunately, we conceded two but the first one he can’t really do anything about it. We need him for the next games as well.”