Liverpool banked £18 million for the sale of Caoimhin Kelleher to Premier League rivals Brentford.
John Alridge has admitted he is surprised that Liverpool did land a higher fee from the sale of Caomhin Kelleher.
The goalkeeper’s inevitable departure was confirmed earlier this month as he was sold to Brentford. Kelleher admitted several times that he had aspirations of becoming a No.1 in his own right, having been a magnificent deputy to Alisson Becker. During his time at Anfield, Kelleher was between the posts to win two Carabao Cups and made 10 appearances en route to the Premier League title.
What’s been said
However, Aldridge confessed that he thought that the Reds might have held out for closer to double for Kelleher Speaking to SundayWorld, former Kop striker Aldridge said: “The first part of that story was always likely to be Kelleher’s move away from Liverpool and while I’m disappointed to see the Cork keeper leave my old club, he had no choice.
“Alisson Becker is the best keeper in the world and so long as he is at Anfield, Caoimh was never going to get a game. He is way too good to be sitting on the bench and the only surprise for me is the fee Brentford are paying to get one of the best keepers in the Premier League.
“We are going to see some crazy transfer fees in this summer’s window, with Liverpool likely to break their transfer record if they can get the deal for Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz over the line.
“That deal is likely to be worth over £100 million and history tells us that the Liverpool owners will look to fund a transfer of that size with player sales and Kelleher’s exit was always going to be part of their plan.
“So when news came through that Brentford are paying just £18 million for Caoimh, it struck me that they have got themselves a real bargain, as I thought Liverpool might get double that fee for him. Brentford keeper Mark Flekken is on his way to Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool will be hoping this becomes a transfer triangle if they can wrap up the deal to bring Wirtz in.
“I’m sad to see Kelleher leave Liverpool because he has been a fantastic servant and stepped in at crucial moments to help the club win some big trophies. He is a top class keeper, but the pressure on him now will be different next season as he will be playing regular football and his mistakes will be highlighted, but that’s what he needs now.”
Kelleher’s void at Liverpool will be filled by the impending arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili. The Reds agreed to sign Mamardashvili from Valencia last summer for up to £29 million but allowed him to remain at the Spanish club for the 2024-25 season to get regular minutes under his belt.
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