Caoimhin Kelleher completes £20 million transfer move to Brentford as Ireland ace hailed for ‘personality and character'
CAOIMHÍN KELLEHER has completed a £20 million move from Liverpool to Brentford after agreeing a five-year deal.
Kelleher, 26, has become the second most expensive Irish man ever - behind
The 22-times capped
Cork
man made it clear he wanted to leave Anfield this
summer
to get more regular first team action, with
But the Bees moved quickly to snap up the highly-rated goalkeeper following the sale of
Director of
football
Phil Giles said: 'We have scouted him in the past and were aware that he had a year to go on his contract with Liverpool this summer.
'When Mark Flekken had the opportunity to move to Bayer Leverkusen, we immediately thought about Caoimhín as his replacement.
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'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.'
First-team goalkeeper coach Manu Sotelo added: 'Caoimhín is a young keeper full of talent who has already proven how he can perform in the
'He is calm and obsessed with improving. His best quality is his agility and he is a clever goalkeeper, with positioning and awareness being key elements of his game.
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'With us, I'm confident he will achieve the
next
level in terms of performance and show the potential he has.
'I'm looking forward to working with him.'
Shay Given loses the rag over Liverpool's treatment of Caoimhin Kelleher
Kelleher agreed the deal on Monday having been allowed leave the
Ireland
camp where he was preparing for Friday's clash with
He rejoined the squad ahead of Tuesday morning's session and is expected to start on Friday, with assistant boss John O'Shea insisting he Kelleher is a proven No. 1
O'Shea said: 'He's proven the quality that he has every time he's been asked to go in as the number one for Liverpool.
'The run of games that he's shown, that he's been able to show the consistency that he's shown when he's had a run, that they haven't missed Alisson when he has been injured.
'I think that's what the whole of Europe and the whole of the world has seen when Caoimhín has been in goal for Liverpool.'
1
Caoimhin Kelleher has signed for Brentford
Credit: X / brentfordfc
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