Thomas Frank’s Brentford agree a £18 million deal to sign Liverpool shot-stopper Caoimhin Kelleher.
According to a report from The Times, Brentford are closing in on the signature of Caoimhin Kelleher. They have an agreement in place with Liverpool to sign the Irish shot-stopper in a deal worth £18 million. He will take Mark Flekken’s place in the team with the Dutch goalkeeper all set to join Bayer Leverkusen.
Kelleher has come up the ranks at Liverpool and has been a part of their first team since 2019. While he is certainly quite highly rated by people at Anfield, he has only had limited opportunities over the years with Alisson Becker, the preferred option in goal.
He was involved in 20 fixtures in the 2024/25 season and even kept nine clean sheets but the majority of those appearances came because of a hamstring injury to Becker. While Kelleher would love to have an important role at the club, he is well aware of the fact that it is unlikely to happen.
Becker is set to continue and Giorgi Mamardashvili will be joining them in the summer after Liverpool struck a deal worth £29 million with Valencia last summer. He is expected to take over as their new number one going forward.
Brentford are on the verge of signing Kelleher
As a result, Kelleher is now pushing for a move away from the club as he seeks a more prominent role. While a host of clubs are interested in the 26-year-old’s services, Brentford have been the quickest off the blocks.
They have been working on a potential transfer for some time and are within touching distance of securing his services. They have an agreement in place with Liverpool to sign the Irish shot-stopper in a £18 million with £12.5 million upfront.
The Bees have been forced to look for a new shot-stopper as Mark Flekken is set to join Bayer Leverkusen. The German club will be paying €10 million (about £8.4 million) for his services. With him leaving, Kelleher will have the number one role he so desperately wants.
Both transfers are linked as a result Kelleher won’t be joining the Bees unless Flekken departs. But as things stand, the writing seems to be on the wall and negotiations between the clubs continue to get things done and dusted.