Brentford complete £18m signing of Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool | OneFootball

The Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper joins Brentford as the replacement for Mark Flekken, who has completed his £11m transfer to Bayer Leverkusen.

Brentford were swift to identify Kelleher as their top target to take over from the Dutchman and he passed a medical and agreed personal terms with the London club.

Kelleher’s sale means Liverpool have brought in around £70m in a year from Brentford after last summer’s sales of defender Sepp van den Berg and attacking midfielder Fabio Carvalho.

The 26-year-old only had one year left on his contract at Anfield and Liverpool avoided losing him on a free transfer by selling him now.

Kelleher wanted first-team football and, though he had made 46 appearances in the last two seasons, Alisson is established as Liverpool’s first choice.

Caoimhin Kelleher leaves Liverpool after five years as Alisson’s number two (EPA)

In addition, Liverpool bought Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia last summer and while they immediately loaned him back to the Spanish club, the Georgia international is due to arrive at Anfield this year.

Kelleher, who made his Liverpool debut in 2019, excelled in two Carabao Cup final wins but, while he has become a regular for his country, has only made 67 senior club appearances in his career.