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Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher looks set to leave the club(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Caoimhin Kelleher is close to leaving Liverpool to join Brentford in a deal that could be worth up to £18m.

The Ireland international is into the final 12 months of his Anfield terms and has made it clear he is keen to seek a move away in this summer's transfer window, having been kept on last year as high-quality cover for Alisson Becker.

With Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili set to move from Valencia in a £29m switch that was agreed last year, Kelleher's path to the Reds' first team is further away than ever and the 26-year-old is desperate to kick-start his career as a No.1 elsewhere.



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The two-time Carabao Cup winner has been tracked by a number of clubs including Leeds United and West Ham United, while there was long-standing interest from Nottingham Forest before Matz Sels rose to prominence at the City Ground.

Liverpool rejected a cash-plus-player offer from Forest last summer involving Matt Turner.

However, Kelleher is now edging nearer to a departure to Brentford, who are losing Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen in an agreement reportedly worth around £8.5m.

The clubs remain in negotiations but the total fee for Kelleher is worth an initial £12.5m, with add-ons taking it up to £18m for a player who is surplus to requirements at the Premier League champions.

Liverpool had wanted around £20m for the shot-stopper but with Mamardashvili on his way to challenge the vaunted Alisson for a spot in the team next season, Kelleher's prospects appear slim at Anfield and as a result he has been seeking an exit.

Despite his stance, Kelleher has not rocked the boat at Liverpool and has impressed with his attitude behind the scenes, particularly last season after the club refused to budge on offers they viewed as derisory for a keeper widely regarded as one of the finest deputies in the Premier League.

"I just want him to go to a club where he will play on a regular basis," Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson said last month.

"He has been playing at the highest level, whether it’s the Champions League or the Premier League, and done really well.

I just want him to be happy and playing regularly.

"I know he wants to be playing at the highest level.

I guess – I don’t know for sure – he will be playing at the highest level.

I don’t mind [where], so long as he’s playing on a regular basis because he is too good not to be playing."

Kelleher made 20 appearances for Arne Slot this term including 10 in the Premier League when Alisson was ruled out for two months with a hamstring injury between early October and December.

The Brazilian's injury troubles means the Irishman has played 46 times since the start of last season, with 20 coming in the league.

Speaking last September after the transfer window closed without a move away from Liverpool, Kelleher said: "I've made it clear in the last few years that I want to go and be a number one and play week in, week out.

"The club's made that decision to get another goalkeeper and from the outside looking in, it looks like they've made a decision to go in a different direction.

"Sometimes from the outside looking in, it looks like that's 100% my decision but at times it's not always in my hands.

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"It's been reported that Liverpool have rejected a few bids as well.
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