Kenny says Kelleher needs to leave Liverpool in summer

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny believes the time has come for Caoimhin Kelleher to leave Liverpool and advance his career elsewhere.

Last month Jurgen Klopp cooled talk of Kelleher moving on when he said: "Caoimh Kelleher? He has a contract. You want us to say goodbye just in case. No, I can't see him leaving. It would have to be an extraordinary offer for me to even start thinking about it, I have to say."

However Kenny admitted on Thursday that he expects the Corkman to depart the Merseyside giants in order to gain regular game time.

"Caoimhin is a very talented goalkeeper," Kenny said at the announcement of his squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 double-header against Greece and Gibraltar.

"It looks like he'll be on the move this summer and he can only benefit [from that]. He needs to play games.

"He's been starved of games this season, it's been a problem for him. It's hard to leave Liverpool, it's such an iconic club, but he's not so young now. He's 24, and he needs to play and he knows that.

"He knew that earlier this season and I think he's been in dialogue with Liverpool about that for a long time. It's most likely it'll happen you would think in the summer.

"I would fully expect [him to move]. He's at the stage where he's behind one of the best goalkeepers in the world. You can't improve by not playing. He knows that. He's known that for a while. I think he's ready to go and play regularly, because he needs to.

"The previous season was a great success for him, winning the [Carabao] Cup, playing in the cup competitions. They were knocked out early this year and there was not so much football for him."

Ireland fly to Turkey on Monday for a nine-day warm-weather training camp ahead of a huge clash against the Greeks on