 At the time he was the most expensive goalkeeper in British transfer history, at only 20 years old.Kirkland made his debut for Liverpool in October 2001, but mostly served as understudy to first-choice goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek during the 2001–02 season.During the following season, costly errors by Dudek in a league fixture against Manchester United resulted in manager Gérard Houllier handing the first team place to Kirkland in December.