Though they are not involved for Liverpool’s clash with Sparta Prague, there were two new faces in the goalkeeping group during first-team training on Wednesday.
Before their flight to the Czech Republic later in the afternoon, the Reds fulfilled their European media duties with an open session at the AXA Training Centre.
A 27-man squad was filmed warming up in the Merseyside sunshine, including the returning Mohamed Salah, who is now available again after injury.
The sight of Caoimhin Kelleher jogging out onto the pitch was a welcome one, too, following rumours earlier in the week that the Irishman had joined Alisson on the injury list.
Kelleher was joined by Adrian and Fabian Mrozek as part of the goalkeeping group, with the trio then named in the travelling squad for the last-16 tie.
But also involved in first-team training beforehand were Oscar Kelly and Luke Hewitson, who marked rare appearances alongside the senior squad.
Kelly, 21, has been part of the academy ranks since U9s level, though he has been largely employed as a training goalkeeper in recent years.
That means Kelly is predominantly used to pad out numbers in training, though he kept a clean sheet on his U21s debut against Man City in 2022 and most recently started in a 2-1 loss to Newcastle in February of this year.
The Scouser was among the 11 players announced on the club’s released list last summer, but went on to agree new terms which included a coaching role.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Hewitson has been with Liverpool since a move from Sunderland in 2019, and is actually spending the current campaign on loan at Stalybridge Celtic.
But the conditions of his deal with the non-league side see Hewitson work at the AXA Training Centre throughout the week, before joining his loan club for fixtures.
So far this season, the popular goalkeeper has kept seven clean sheets in 33 appearances for Stalybridge Celtic, with an even record of 11 wins, 11 draws and 11 losses.
There is no indication that either Kelly or Hewitson will be retained as part of the first-team setup, but their part in pre-Sparta training will have been valued by coaches John Achterberg, Jack Robinson and Claudio Taffarel.
It is Taffarel who typically works with the younger goalkeepers on a day-to-day basis, with any experience of being coached by the World Cup winner surely productive.
Fan Comments