Caoimhin Kelleher to complete £18m transfer as Arne Slot green lights Liverpool exit

Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made no secret of his desire to play regular football and the Republic of Ireland international is now close to joining Brentford

Caoimhin Kelleher is poised to join Brentford in a deal that could reach £18million after the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper was given the go-ahead to pursue a permanent move away from Liverpool.

Kelleher, 26, has earned plenty of admirers as a result of his impressive performances for the Reds in the past. But with Alisson retaining his spot as Liverpool's first-choice keeper and Giorgi Mamardashvili arriving at Anfield from Valencia in the upcoming transfer window, all parties have now agreed a permanent move is for the best.

Brentford's interest in Kelleher has been longstanding and it emerged earlier this week that they had resurrected talks with their Premier League rivals over a deal.

The Bees' current No.1, Mark Flekken, is set to complete a transfer of his own to Bayer Leverkusen - and that has paved the way for a move which should give Kelleher the regular football he craves, with Sky Sports confirming a deal has been agreed with the player set to undergo a medical on Monday.

Kelleher has made no secret of his desire to play regularly and confirmed he would be on the move this summer during Liverpool's recent title celebrations.

"Yeah, yeah definitely," he said. "I've said it before as well, I feel like I'm good enough to be a No.1 and I feel like I'm good enough to play week in, week out and that's what I'm looking to do.

"This season I was lucky enough to play a lot of games but it's definitely something I'm looking at."

Speaking back in June, Kelleher revealed that the Reds' outgoing manager, Jurgen Klopp, had wished him well and wanted to see him playing.

The keeper said: “He had some nice words for me. I was with him for a number of years and he said ‘You became a brilliant goalkeeper in that time.’ He is going to follow my career wherever I go. He wants to see me playing and to be happy.

“The season I’ve had, I’ve played a lot of games and had that taste this season of being a number one. Whether that’s at Liverpool or elsewhere, that remains to be seen. My main focus at the moment is to be number one.

“Obviously I love playing for Ireland. A big ambition of mine is to be the number one here – obviously that only comes hand in hand when I’m number one at the club as well. That plays a major part as well, in terms of helping my case to be Ireland number one.”