Kirkland has Anfield future, says Benitez
By Mark Ogden (Filed: 22/01/2005)
Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has been reassured as to his future at Anfield by manager Rafael Benitez following the arrival of Scott Carson, the England Under-21 goalkeeper, in a £1 million transfer from Leeds United.
Carson, 19, will be a substitute for Liverpool's Premiership encounter with Southampton at St Mary's this afternoon after favouring a move to Merseyside ahead of a transfer to Chelsea.
Benitez moved for Carson after becoming frustrated by Jerzy Dudek's loss of form and the series of injuries that have severely restricted Kirkland's development at Anfield since his £6 million arrival from Coventry City four years ago.
Having often been described as a future England goalkeeper, Kirkland's injury problems, including the back injury which will keep him on the sidelines for another two months, have placed question marks over his Liverpool future. Benitez, though, has insisted that Carson's arrival does not signify the end for Kirkland.
"Chris still has a future here and is very much in our plans, but he has two or three months of rehabilitation ahead of him at the moment," Benitez said. "Scott Carson will bring competitiveness to the squad, but we must remember that he is only 19 so he is mainly one for the future.
"We are looking at the big picture and guaranteeing our future. He is the best young keeper in England at the moment. Chelsea tried to get him, but it's good news for the club that he came here instead. I told Scott that I'm happy with the two keepers we have. He is not the keeper for the next week or the next month, but he is our keeper for the future."
Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain, is a major doubt for today's game due to a thigh injury.
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