Jerzy Dudek seems to be resigning himself to going through the exit door at Anfield this winter in an attempt to keep his place as Poland’s number one for the forthcoming World Cup. Dudek will never be forgotten for his performance in the Champions League final in May, but before that game had been played Reds boss Rafa Benitez had already lined up his replacement. Pepe Reina was the replacement and he’s undoubtedly the first-choice keeper at Anfield now. Dudek’s injury just before the closure of the transfer window in the summer seemed to have bought him a little more time at Anfield, but now he’s recovered he’s considering his future.
Jerzy has been Poland’s number one during his whole Anfield career, and says the Poland coach has warned him he’s got to be playing first-team football to keep things that way. Dudek says: "It is difficult ahead of the World Cup if you are not playing and especially in my position. The national coach has told me that if I do not play for Liverpool then it will be tough for me to play for the national team."
It would be unlikely that Liverpool would be willing for the player to go out only on loan, as they did with Chris Kirkland who has a season at West Brom to help him get involved for England. Dudek is worth a certain amount of money, especially after Istanbul, and that would come in handy for Liverpool in their search for width and defensive cover. This January could see Dudek get sold: "I know that if I do not play for Liverpool then I have to do something. I need to speak to Rafa Benitez about my future and maybe look for something in the January window. I need to play ahead of the World Cup as to miss out would be disastrous."
Although Dudek has started to accept his days at Anfield are numbered, he’s desperate to get a chance to run out at the ground one more time to say thank you and goodbye to the supporters. "It is very frustrating when you can’t play in front of the Kop having won the Champions League but I have been concentrating so far on getting fit." There’s no doubt that Dudek getting the chance to say his farewell, even if only for the last five minutes of a game, would see the whole ground give him a standing ovation in recognition of his heroics in Istanbul. The unfortunate Carling Cup defeat means that Liverpool would have to play him in a league game for him to get that chance to sign out.