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Brentford have completed the signing of Caoimhín Kelleher from Liverpool in a deal that could rise to £18m.
Liverpool had wanted more than £20m for the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper but, with only a year remaining on his contract and Kelleher keen for regular football, the Premier League champions have accepted an initial payment of £12.5m plus add-ons from Brentford for the 26-year-old.
The deal for Kelleher was confirmed shortly after Mark Flekken, Brentford’s first-choice goakeeper last season, sealed a €10m move to Bayer Leverkusen. The two transfers were linked.
Kelleher had made no secret of his desire to become a No 1 having impressed when deputising for Alisson. He made 20 appearances for Liverpool last season, 26 in 2023-24, and his opportunities were likely to be restricted further at Anfield next season given the arrival of Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia.
Flekken made 77 appearances for Brentford after arriving from Freiburg in May 2023 and the 31-year-old missed only one Premier League match last season.
Photograph: Jaimi Joy/Reuters
“When Mark Flekken had the opportunity to move to Bayer Leverkusen, we immediately thought about Caoimhín as his replacement,” said Brentford’s director of football, Phil Giles. “As well as being a very good goalkeeper, I’ve rarely met a player for whom everybody has such positive words to say about his personality and character. I’m therefore confident he’ll be an excellent addition to the squad.”
“We were expecting Mark to be our goalkeeper for many more years. However, when Bayer Leverkusen made it known that they wanted to do this transfer, and Mark made it clear that he was interested in moving closer to home and with a possibility of Champions League football, we turned our attention towards how all parties could make this happen,” Giles added. “Mark has done a great job for us and leaves with our thanks and support.”
