They let him go for nothing in the summer, but Rangers should keep tabs on Livingston’s Liam Kelly.
The former Gers goalkeeper was correctly allowed to head to Livi on a free in the summer. This was after he spent a season there where he made 34 appearances for the Almondvale side. This encouraged Livingston to go back in for Kelly on a permanent deal in the close-season.
Fans probably wouldn’t have raised any eyebrows when the deal was done. In truth, the majority, if not all supporters would’ve turned away without giving it a second thought.
At the time, that was the right thing to do, and it still remains the case. But, after an impressive start to the season, Rangers should keep tabs on their former man.
Kelly is only 22, which is supremely young for goalkeeper. He has plenty of development left in him and, considering how well he’s doing already, that’s quite scary.
Clean-sheet record
In his first season in the Premiership so far, Kelly has kept an impressive four clean sheets in six games. To put it into perspective, Allan McGregor has only had two from his opening five and fans can’t stop praising him.
Before anyone gets the wrong end of the stick here, McGregor is a much better goalkeeper than Kelly. His performances so far this season have been sensational, and he’s finally added a safe pair of hands to the Gers goal.
So far this season, however, Kelly has also looked incredibly impressive at one of the relegation favourites. Livingston currently sit second in the table, with Kelly a catalyst for that. The Livi goalkeeper has made some stunning stops of his own, and has looked comfortable with the ball at his feet. Considering it’s his first season in top-flight football, that’s mightily impressive.
As a long-term option, Rangers would do well to keep tabs on him and make sure nobody else snaps him up. With McGregor in his twilight years, he won’t go on forever.
It could all still go wrong for Kelly of course. Some big mistakes could rock his confidence and he fades into obscurity. But he looks a much more classier goalkeeper than that.
Rangers were right to let him go and test himself in the Premiership on a more permanent basis in the summer. But in the long term, Steven Gerrard should just keep an eye on his progress over the next year or two.
