Lionesses starlet Khiara Keating completes Liverpool transfer after rejecting new contract at Manchester City

Liverpool announced Keating's arrival on Monday, with her signing what BBC Sportunderstands to be a three-year deal. She will wear the No.12 shirt.

It comes after Keating rejected the offer of a new Man City contract last month ahead of her current deal expiring, despite the club announcing in 2023 that she had signed a contract until 2027. It means Liverpool pick up a top young goalkeeper on a free transfer, then, making the business all the more impressive from the Reds.

This was a position of serious need for the Merseysiders. The club brought in Jennifer Falk on loan in January to address it but could not agree a permanent deal for the Sweden international at the end of the campaign. As such, a new shot-stopper was on the shopping list and head coach Gareth Taylor has turned to a familiar face to tick it off, having been the man in charge at Man City when Keating enjoyed her senior breakthrough in the 2023-24 season.

Keating won the WSL Golden Glove at the end of that campaign, becoming the youngest player ever to do so, but her game time would dwindle from there on out. She started 12 league games the following year, down from 22, and was granted only four WSL starts this past season, as City ended their 10-year wait for another league title under new head coach Andree Jeglertz. The 22-year-old was the starting goalkeeper in the FA Cup but she missed out on victory at Wembley in the final after suffering a concussion.

Speaking to GOAL in May, she admitted a lack of minutes had been "tough", adding: "At the end of the day, everyone wants to play, so not getting as many minutes as I can in the league was a bit disappointing." It had also led to Keating being left out of some of England's squads, in the same season that she made her Lionesses debut, at the Etihad Stadium back in October.

As such, it was always going to be interesting to see if the shot-stopper looked at a move away from Manchester this summer, to give herself the best possible chance of being in the mix for the England squad ahead of next summer's Women's World Cup. She's now made that decision, reuniting with Taylor at Liverpool, where one would expect her to be the Reds' first-choice goalkeeper.

Speaking upon the announcement of the move, Keating said: "I think everyone knows Liverpool worldwide. It’s such a big club and I think the women’s team is striving for greatness. I think the style of football that they play suits me and my position. I think they’re just going in the right direction and [it is] a project that I want to be part of.

"The start of my career has been nothing but amazing. I’ve gained platforms and done brilliantly so far. But I needed that missing [piece of the] puzzle and I think Liverpool can be that - where I’m playing week in, week out and I’m getting good game time, playing with a good team and winning trophies."

Keating is Liverpool's fourth signing of the summer, following England youth international Mari Ward, former Koln defender Sara Agrez and Germany forward Vivien Endemann to the club. This deal, meanwhile, could force Man City to go out into the market again, after signing two Lionesses in Beth Mead and Niamh Charles.

The WSL champions do have two other goalkeepers on their books still, in Scotland international Eartha Cumings, who played well on the final day of last season in one of three appearances in all competitions, and Eve Annets, the 20-year-old who has yet to play for City since joining from Reading two years ago.

However, if another loan move beckons for Annets this year, adding another shot-stopper would be necessary to ensure the depth is there behind Ayaka Yamashita, the Japan international who has assumed the role of City's No.1. Keating won't be easy to replace, either, as finding a back-up goalkeeper of such quality is rare.