Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher joins Brentford
Caoimhin Kelleher has joined Brentford from Liverpool in a deal that could be worth £18million ($24.3m).
The Athletic reported at the beginning of June Liverpool had accepted an offer from Brentford for the goalkeeper. The initial fee is £12.5m rising to £18m with add ons.
The 26-year-old's Liverpool contract was set to expire in the summer of 2026 and the club valued him at £20m going into the summer window.
Advertisement
Kelleher joined Liverpool's academy from Irish side Ringmahon Rangers in 2015 and made his senior debut in 2019. While Alisson has been the club's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper, Kelleher has still played a significant role since breaking into the first team, and made 20 appearances in all competitions last season as Liverpool won the Premier League.
He has made 67 appearances for the club and started the Carabao Cup final in 2024 and 2025.
However, the Republic of Ireland international has frequently spoken of his intention to pursue a new challenge and his ambitions to be a No. 1 goalkeeper elsewhere.
Liverpool also have an agreement in place to sign Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili this summer after a £29m move was agreed last August.
Brentford's move for Kelleher comes with the club agreeing a €10m (£8.4m) deal to sell goalkeeper Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen.
The club have a strong working relationship with Liverpool, having also signed Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho from last summer.
A Kelleher departure has been the direction of travel for a number of seasons with the Republic of Ireland international never shying away from making clear his intentions were to become a No.1 goalkeeper.
Unfortunately for him, he has been backing up one of the best goalkeepers in the world Alisson Becker. That hierarchy has been clear, and head coach Arne Slot reaffirmed it this season when making clear that when the Brazilian is fit, he is the No. 1 regardless of Kelleher's form. It is one of the key reasons he needed to move on if he wanted regular game time.
When Liverpool recruited Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili last summer, the writing seemed to be on the wall even more. Additionally, with only one year remaining on his contract, the club had to act decisively to ensure they did not lose him for free next summer.
Advertisement
Those factors contributed to a deal worth up to £18million being struck with Brentford. Liverpool were thought to value the 26-year-old north of £20million, but with his replacement signed, contract length short, and his desire to move clear, they were not in a strong position to negotiate.
Supporters will be disappointed to see Kelleher leave as he proved himself to be one of, if not the best, second choice goalkeeper in Europe. Whenever he was required to step in for Alisson due to rotation or injury, he excelled and has contributed to multiple trophy successes during his time at the club.
The test for him now will be dealing with the pressure of producing consistently over a 38-game season — an opportunity he has earned.
()
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
17 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Europe's central bank expected to lower interest rates as Trump's trade war threatens growth
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Lower inflation and concern that U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war will slow already modest growth have cleared the way for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates at Thursday's policy meeting, a step that would lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses and promote economic activity. With a cut widely expected by market analysts, a key question is how low the bank will go, given uncertainty about the impact of U.S. trade policy on Europe's export-dependent economy. Bank President Christine Lagarde will face questions about the bank's outlook for coming meetings at her post-decision news conference. A cut of a quarter percentage point would be the eighth rate cut since June 2024 and would take the bank's benchmark rate to 2%. Trump on April 2 announced a 20% tariff, or import tax, on goods from the European Union. He later threatened to raise the tariff to 50% after expressing dissatisfaction with the progress of trade talks with the EU. Trump and the EU's executive commission have agreed to suspend implementation and any retaliation by the EU until July 14 as negotiators seek to reach agreement. Trump added more disruption this week by suddenly increasing a 25% tariff on steel imports to 50% for all countries except for the U.K. The threat of even higher tariffs has raised fears that growth will underperform already modest forecasts. The EU's executive commission lowered its growth forecast for this year to 0.9% from 1.3% on the optimistic assumption that the 20% tariff rate can be negotiated down to no more than 10%. Low inflation has bolstered the ECB's ability to cut rates. Annual inflation for the 20 countries that use the euro fell to 1.9% in May from 2.2% in April as energy prices eased. The ECB raised rates to a record high of 4% to suppress a 2021-2023 inflation outbreak that reached double digits. But with inflation now below its 2% target, the bank has more freedom to cut. Lower rates make it cheaper to borrow and buy things, supporting demand for goods and in theory increasing spending and investment.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chelsea working on deal to beat Liverpool to striker target
Chelsea Push Ahead in Ekitike Race as Liverpool Assess Options Premier League giants pursue Eintracht Frankfurt striker amid growing transfer urgency Chelsea have accelerated their interest in Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike and are currently working on a verbal agreement regarding personal terms, according to Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg. The Blues intend to follow that up with more formal negotiations with the Bundesliga side in the coming days. The French forward has attracted strong interest from both Chelsea and Liverpool, with the latter exploring attacking reinforcements as part of a multi-pronged summer rebuild. However, Chelsea's more aggressive stance in recent days has seen them move ahead in the queue. Photo IMAGO Advertisement Frankfurt are said to be demanding €100 million (£84 million) for Ekitike, a figure both Premier League clubs would be reluctant to meet in full. Chelsea, however, are reportedly hopeful of negotiating the fee down to approximately €77 million (£65 million). Chelsea's striker strategy takes shape Despite already completing the £30 million signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich Town, Chelsea remain determined to recruit a second centre-forward. The club views Ekitike as a potential first-choice option, someone who could immediately start ahead of Delap in Enzo Maresca's attacking setup. Photo IMAGO Should both Delap and Ekitike arrive this summer, there may be movement elsewhere in the squad. Nicolas Jackson's future is under discussion, with the suggestion that Manchester United could be preparing a move for the Senegal international. Photo: IMAGO Chelsea's push comes amid a broader squad overhaul at Stamford Bridge, where multiple senior players are expected to depart. Bringing in Ekitike would signal a long-term commitment to building a young, dynamic attack, one aligned with the club's strategic recruitment model. Liverpool's stance shaped by potential outgoings Liverpool also admire Ekitike, but their approach appears more cautious. The Anfield hierarchy are unlikely to make a concrete move without first offloading Darwin Núñez, who continues to attract interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia. Photo: IMAGO With Alexander Isak deemed unattainable this summer, Ekitike has risen on Liverpool's shortlist. However, the Merseyside club have other priorities at present, including completing deals for Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz. The club are also monitoring left-wing options, particularly with ongoing uncertainty over Luis Díaz's future. Photo IMAGO Ekitike scored 22 goals and provided 12 assists in a standout campaign for Frankfurt and is widely viewed as one of Europe's most promising young strikers. The player is understood to be open to a move, with Frankfurt granting him the green light to leave — but only on their terms. Ekitike pursuit could go late into window While Chelsea appear to have taken the initiative, sources believe this transfer could remain active deep into the summer. If Frankfurt soften their stance or if Liverpool are able to generate funds through player sales, the dynamic could yet shift. For now, Chelsea lead the race. But Liverpool, patient and pragmatic, are not out of it.
Medscape
21 minutes ago
- Medscape
New Hyperkalemia Risk Model for CKD and Diabetes
A new risk model may help identify which patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes are more likely to develop hyperkalemia, granting physicians more confidence in prescribing medications like finerenone. However, researchers caution that further validation is needed. The model is based on pooled data from two phase 3 trials of finerenone: FIDELIO-DKD (Finerenone in Reducing Kidney Failure and Disease Progression in Diabetic Kidney Disease) and FIGARO-DKD (Finerenone in Reducing Cardiovascular Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease). The combined dataset, known as FIDELITY, includes 6355 patients in the placebo groups. Researchers used this dataset to develop the risk score, identifying seven factors independently associated with the primary outcome of new onset of hyperkalemia (incident serum potassium level > 5.5 mmol/L): Serum potassium > 4.5 mmol/L Prior history of hyperkalemia No use of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio > 1000 mg/g Hemoglobin < 12 g/dL No use of thiazide-type diuretics Estimated glomerular filtration rate < 45 mL/min/1.73 m2 The model was subsequently validated using data from the finerenone groups in FIDELITY. In their paper, published online in the European Heart Journal , João Pedro Ferreira, MD, PhD, of the Cardiovascular Research and Development Center at the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, and coauthors noted that the model could be used to reduce the risk for hyperkalemia among high-risk patients receiving finerenone. 'This could include tailoring of individualized treatment and follow-up strategies (eg, frequency of visits and serum potassium assessments, and use of potassium binders), thus optimizing patient management and potentially improving outcomes,' they noted. Welcome Results, Validation Required CKD, which affects more than 800 million people worldwide, is a common complication of diabetes. An estimated 15%-40% of people with CKD in the setting of diabetes may have hyperkalemia, noted Bernard G. Jaar, MD, MPH, clinical director for Nephrology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, who was not involved in the study. In an email exchange with Medscape Medical News , Jaar described the study as 'welcome and much needed.' He noted that hyperkalemia poses a challenge for clinicians, as many medications required for optimal care in CKD — including renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) blockade agents and finerenone — can raise serum potassium. 'This is a true barrier to care,' Jaar wrote. 'Clinicians are worried about the potential complications associated with hyperkalemia, such as arrhythmias and even death.' Jaar noted that the FIDELITY analysis has several strengths, including its large sample size of patients with varying stages of CKD and degrees of proteinuria, and a risk score model that incorporated readily available clinical variables. He added that it reports a stepwise increase in hyperkalemia risk across risk score tertiles in both placebo and finerenone groups, even though all patients were already on a maximally tolerated RAAS blockade agent. However, he questioned the study's generalizability, given that it excluded patients if their serum potassium was > 4.8 mmol/L. 'This risk model in predicting hyperkalemia needs to be validated in other populations where diet may be different,' Jaar wrote. 'Also, this needs to be validated in at-risk populations during real-life experience and not only in patients enrolled in clinical trials, who are typically highly motivated and selected.' Future Applications Rajiv Agarwal, MD, MS, professor emeritus of medicine at Indiana University and a lead researcher in the finerenone clinical studies, echoed the need for further validation of this tool. Although not involved with the development of the risk model, Agarwal was an author on key publications from the FIGARO-DKD, FIDELIO-DKD, and FIDELITY studies. Agarwal suggested that this model's approach could be applied to other therapies, including aldosterone synthase inhibitors in a similar population with CKD. He also noted the importance of incorporating validated risk models for hyperkalemia into electronic medical records or apps, particularly in countries with limited access to care, like China and India. This would allow more nuanced approaches for following up patients taking drugs with established hyperkalemia risk. 'If the patient cannot come after a month, can I make a clinical judgment and say, 'Okay, if you came back after 3 months, your risk of hyperkalemia is low enough that I'm willing to take that risk,'' he said. 'Or if the risk of hyperkalemia is high, you can tell the patient who can't come back in 30 days, 'I don't think I want to prescribe this drug for you'.' The work on the risk model was supported by Bayer, which also funded the FIDELIO-DKD and FIGARO-DKD studies and pooled analysis. The study's authors included Bayer employees. Other financial relationships of the authors included research support, consulting and other fees from companies including: Abbott Vascular, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bayer, BioVentrix, Boehringer Ingelheim, Brahms, Brainstorm Medical, Cardiac Dimensions, Cardior, Cereno Scientific, CSL Vifor, CVRx, Edwards, Eli Lilly, G3 Pharmaceuticals, Gilead, GSK, Impulse Dynamics, Janssen, KBP Biosciences, Mundipharma, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Occlutech, PhaseBio, Proton Intel, Respicardia, Sanofi, Sarfez, scPharmaceuticals, Servier, SQ Innovation, Tricida, Vectorious, Vifor International, and V-Wave. Agarwal had received support from Bayer. He also had received consulting fees and other support from Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Akebia, Intercept Pharma, Alnylam, and Vertex. Jaar reported no relevant financial disclosures.
