Brentford have confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool in a deal worth £18million.
The Republic of Ireland international has replaced Mark Flekken, who the Bees confirmed has left for Bayer Leverkusen earlier today.
The 26-year-old spent a decade on Merseyside, joining from Irish side Ringmahon Rangers, and played second fiddle to Alisson between the sticks for the majority of his time at the club.
West Ham, Leeds, and Bournemouth all showed interest in the Irishman, but Brentford made their move on Sunday night and agreed on a cut-price deal with the Liverpool hierarchy.
Kelleher has put pen to paper on a five-year deal in west London, and the club has the option to extend the contract by a further year to 2031.
Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher is leaving for Brentford after a decade-long stay at Anfield
The Irish international will replace Mark Flekken who has moved to Bayer Leverkusen
‘I’m buzzing, I’m really happy to be here,’ Kelleher told the Brentford website. ‘I don’t think it was very difficult for me to leave [Liverpool]. I felt for my own career that the time was right for me to go, to be a no.1 and to play every week.
‘I heard of some interest a number of weeks ago. Once I knew Brentford was in for me, it was definitely one I was really excited about and wanted to do as quickly as possible.
‘When I come back for pre-season, all focus will be on what I want to do next year; to work on certain goals and what I need to improve on, and to have a really good season for Brentford.’
Brentford are believed to have been interested in Kelleher as far back as 2023 – before they signed Flekken, but Liverpool were not willing to negotiate a deal.
Thomas Frank’s side have built a strong relationship with the Reds in the years that have followed, as they bought both Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg last season.
And that rapport could have come in handy when negotiating with Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, with plenty of parties interested.
For a second-choice goalkeeper, Kelleher accrued a large number of minutes deputising for Alisson in the last two seasons.
46 of his appearances came in the last two years, with the stopper contributing well to Liverpool’s Premier League triumph last season.
Kelleher made 10 appearances in Liverpool’s Premier League title win in the season just gone
He also made a massive penalty save from Kylian Mbappe as the Reds beat Real Madrid in the Champions League last November
The arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili at Liverpool from Valencia has allowed Kelleher to move
However, with Giorgi Mamardashvili set to arrive from Valencia – after agreeing a £29m move last summer – Liverpool allowed Kelleher to pack his gloves and move on.
It became apparent that his desire to play football with more regularity was growing, and he made it abundantly clear when speaking following the Red’s trophy lift on the final day of the season.
Speaking to Optus Sport, he said: ‘I think I’ve said it before as well that I feel like I’m a number one and I feel like I’m good enough to play week in, week out. That’s what I’m looking to do.
‘Obviously, this season I was lucky enough to play a lot of games … But yeah, it’s definitely something I’m looking at.’
Kelleher won seven major trophies while at Liverpool, including two Premier League trophies, a Champions League, an FA Cup, and two Carabao Cups – one of which he was the hero of the shootout in 2022 against Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Flekken – who kept 14 clean sheets during his two seasons in the Premier League – has joined up with new Leverkusen boss Erik ten Hag to take on Champions League football.
The initial fee that Brentford will receive is believed to be around £8m, but it will rise to £11m with add-ons.
