Brentford have completed the signing of goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool for an initial £12.5m.
Performance-related add-ons could take the eventual fee to £18m.
Kelleher, a Republic of Ireland international, is someone Brentford tracked for a long time.
They were interested before they signed Mark Flekken in 2023, but Liverpool have only been open to selling since securing Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia last summer.
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Take a look at Caoimhin Kelleher’s best saves in the Premier League
Brentford had been facing competition from other clubs for Kelleher, including Leeds and West Ham, but Thomas Frank’s side have a strong relationship with Liverpool, having secured Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho from Anfield last summer.
Kelleher, capped 22 times by his country, secured a second Premier League title with the Reds this season but only started 10 games as Alisson continued ahead of him in the pecking order.
Brentford have signed Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher (credit: Nigel Keene/ProSportsImages)
Flekken completes Leverkusen move
Elsewhere, existing Bees No 1 Flekken has completed a move to Bayer Leverkusen.
Leverkusen and Brentford agreed a fee in the region of £11m (€13m) inclusive of add-ons earlier on Tuesday, meaning he will link up with former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag in Germany.
Analysis: Kelleher deserves chance to shine
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:
Even though he was Alisson’s No 2 at Anfield, Kelleher played his part in Liverpool’s title success. He featured 10 times in the Premier League as he covered for the Brazilian through injury and unavailability.
And Kelleher performed very well, finishing in the top dozen goalkeepers for save percentage and passes completed, which is what a Brentford goalkeeper needs to do quite a bit of.
That’s because Flekken – who Kelleher will replace as the Bees’ No 1 – finished top out of all Premier League goalkeepers in those two metrics. Brentford allow lots of shots on goal, while they also play a mix of clever direct long balls or risky passes out the back to soak up pressure.
So Kelleher finishing second to Flekken in passes attempted per 90 last season is a positive sign.
With countryman Nathan Collins and former Liverpool defender Van den Berg important parts of the Brentford defence, it feels like a well-suited move for both goalkeeper and his new club.
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