Kirkland ends his five years of frustration

Chris Kirkland, universally recognised as an immensely talented goalkeeper for several years, has finally ended his ill-fated five-year stint at Liverpool. After being signed for £6m back in 2001 by Gerard Houllier, Kirkland was never able to stay clear of injuries for a sufficient period of time to establish himself as the club’s number one.

Rafael Benitez quickly grew frustrated with Kirkland’s spout of injuries; by last summer, Kirkland had become fourth choice at Anfield and spent the season on loan at West Brom. He initially did well, before receiving an inevitable injury; the phenomenal form of Tomasz Kuszczak kept him out of the side thereafter.

Since joining Wigan on an initial loan deal in the summer, Kirkland has remained injury free and put together a run of eight consecutive Premiership games. In the process, he has forced his way into the England squad and, when appearing as a sub during England's 4-0 win over Greece, allowed his father to reap the rewards of placing a speculative bet on his son representing England when Kirkland was a child.

He is just 25 and, given the potential he possesses and the low fee Liverpool were demanding - around £1million, it was a surprise, in some ways, that no ‘bigger’ clubs made moves to sign him. But at Wigan he will be the main man and should be a guaranteed starter when fit. After several seasons treading water, Kirkland is back playing regular football. If his form is consistent and he keeps clear of the treatment table, then the notion of him becoming England’s new number one will be anything but risible.