Brentford sign Kelleher as Flekken sold to Leverkusen
Brentford have signed goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool to replace Netherlands stopper Mark Flekken, who has left the Bees to join Bayer Leverkusen.The move for Republic of Ireland international Kelleher is for an initial £12.5m, which could rise to £18m with add-ons, and Flekken has been sold for a fee in the region of £8m.Kelleher has signed a five-year contract with Brentford, who have the option to extend the deal by a further 12 months.Liverpool have sold the 26-year-old with Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili joining them in July to compete for the number one shirt with established first choice Alisson Becker. "I don't think it was very difficult for me to leave [Liverpool]," said Kelleher. "I felt for my own career that the time was right for me to go, to be a number one and to play every week."I heard of some interest a number of weeks ago. Once I knew Brentford was in for me, it was definitely one I was really excited about and wanted to do as quickly as possible."
Kelleher played in 25 Premier League games for Liverpool since making his debut five years ago.He also made more than 40 cup appearances for the Reds and won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups and a Uefa Super Cup in his time at Anfield."We have scouted him in the past and were aware that he had a year to go on his contract with Liverpool this summer," said Brentford director of football Phil Giles."When Mark Flekken had the opportunity to move to Bayer Leverkusen, we immediately thought about Caoimhin as his replacement."As well as being a very good goalkeeper, I've rarely met a player for whom everybody has such positive words to say about his personality and character. I'm therefore confident he'll be an excellent addition to the squad."
Flekken, who has signed a three-year deal with Leverkusen, had been at Brentford since joining from Freiburg in May 2023.The 31-year-old made 77 appearances for the west London club and helped them finish 10th in the Premier League last season."Mark has proven to be a seamless replacement for David Raya, who set an extremely high standard during his years with us," added Giles."We were expecting Mark to be our goalkeeper for many more years, however when Bayer Leverkusen made it known that they wanted to do this transfer, and Mark made it clear that he was interested in moving closer to home and with a possibility of Champions League football, we turned our attention towards how all parties could make this happen."Mark has done a great job for us and leaves with our thanks and support."Leverkusen recently appointed former Ajax and Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag as their new manager following the departure of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. "Mark Flekken possesses a wide range of skills that a goalkeeper in modern top-flight football must possess," said Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes."Mark exudes an impressive physical presence; from a footballing perspective, he has certainly been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the past two years."
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