Bournemouth are leading the race to sign Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher ahead of their Premier League rivals, talkSPORT understands.
The 26-year-old looks set for a summer switch away from Anfield having told club chiefs he wants to leave.
Kelleher is keen for regular first-team football having outgrown his back-up role to No.1 Alisson.
Since making his Reds debut in September 2019, the Republic of Ireland international has been limited to just 23 Premier League appearances.
And with Liverpool to welcome Georgian star Giorgi Mamardashvili to Merseyside in the summer, Kelleher is facing an uncertain future.
Tied down at Anfield until 2026 and not willing to extend his stay at the club, Liverpool are believed to be seeking a fee of around £30million for Kelleher.
The Cork native isn’t short of suitors, with Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle all keeping tabs on his situation.
But it is Bournemouth that are in pole position to secure his services with the Cherries keen to make a move first.
Andoni Iraola’s side are in the market for a new shot-stopper to replace on-loan star Kepa Arrizabalaga, who will be be heading back to Chelsea.
The south coast outfit have no obligation to turn the Spaniard’s temporary stay into a permanent switch.
With just five clean sheets from his 22 top-flights outings this term, Bournemouth are ready to bring in a new goalkeeper to make the position his own.
And it’s understood that Iraola has urged Bournemouth to quickly press ahead with the signing of Kelleher as soon as the window reopens in June.
Despite both of Chelsea’s goalkeepers in Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen struggling for consistency this season, boss Enzo Maresca isn’t at this stage hellbent on signing a new goalkeeper.
It is the same case at Tottenham, who have Guglielmo Vicario and Antonin Kinsky challenging for the No.1 jersey.
But with the pair prone to mistakes, it remains to be seen if Spurs formalise their interest in Kelleher.
As for Newcastle, they are in the market for a goalkeeper to battle Nick Pope and Martin Dubravka, but there are question marks as to whether they can match Liverpool’s asking price.
Kelleher started between the sticks against the Magpies at Wembley on Sunday as Newcastle ran out 2-1 winners in the Carabao Cup final.
With Liverpool out of the FA Cup and Champions League, it could mean that Kelleher has played his last game for the club.
Should he link up at Bournemouth, he could be playing European football next term.
While they sit tenth in the table, they are just three points off the top seven and five off the top four with nine matches remaining.
