Brentford the perfect stepping stone for Liverpool keeper back to Champions League

If Brentford’s plan pays off – they usually do – then Liverpool will be seeing Caoimhin Kelleher again in the Champions League before long…

Despite reams of data and days’ worth of analysis on every player to have kicked a professional football, there remains no such thing as a dead-cert in the transfer market. But Brentford have bagged themselves something close during their latest dive into Liverpool’s talent pool.

Caoimhin Kelleher is set to join the Bees for an initial fee of £12.5million, which could rise to £18million if Thomas Frank’s side become liable for all the add-ons. Even in the context of the 26-year-old’s contract situation, it seems a steal.

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In simple terms, Brentford are replacing their 32-year-old outgoing No.1 – Mark Flekken is bound for Bayer Leverkusen – with a 26-year-old Republic of Ireland international who has played a more prominent role in a title triumph than any back-up keeper in the Premier League era.

Stefan Ortega, with his save to deny Heung-min Son when City needed points at Tottenham last season, might reasonably dispute that claim but in terms of minutes rather than moments, Kelleher has covered for the main man more often than any other title-winning stand-in.

That he has been required so often makes us wonder whether Liverpool are taking a gamble in waving off Kelleher.

Alisson has missed a season’s worth of Premier League games in the seven he’s spent at Anfield, 20 of which he’s sat out in the last two campaigns. While the Brazilian is rightly considered by many to be the division’s most reliable stopper, he’s among the least dependable in terms of fitness.

Handy then that Giorgi Mamardashvili is on his way from Valencia to replace Kelleher. The giant Georgian comes with a similar-sized reputation, but there is always the question over how a foreign goalkeeper will adapt to the Premier League. Like Kelleher, Mamardashvili won’t be content with dirtying his gloves only when Alisson is absent.

But Liverpool are no longer Kelleher’s concern. With dues paid and stripes earned while winning honours, the time is now for the Cork-born custodian to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight as a Premier League regular.

Brentford? Kelleher was being linked with Liverpool’s Big Six rivals. Chelsea have been credited with a long-standing interest, while Manchester United were recently given a nudge to make a move for the 22-cap Irishman. Might he have aimed higher than the Bees?

Only if he listened to the wrong people.

Brentford feels like the ideal place for a goalkeeper on the upward trajectory of his career arc to establish his credentials as a No.1.

Brentford will have sold themselves as a stepping stone. The ideal scenario: Kelleher spends perhaps two years at the G-tech, proving right seemingly anyone who has voiced an opinion on him, prompting more interest from the big hitters. Brentford double their money – at least – and Kelleher gets the chance to refamiliarise himself with the Champions League. Assuming Brentford don’t make a Forest-style dash for the top table in the meantime.

As Brentford will have spotted long before anyone else, Kelleher is an ideal choice to replace Flekken. Both are consistent as shot-stoppers, each conceding close to the number of goals the xG numbers tell us they ought to have. Both are comfortable in possession and happy to mix up the type and length of their distribution without taking unnecessary risks.

Neither is dominant on crosses, with Flekken stopping 7.9% of the balls delivered into his box while Kelleher dealt with 5.3%. Given Brentford faced the fifth-highest number of crosses last season, perhaps there is an area for Kelleher to demonstrate growth.

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If it feels like the right move at the right time, it’s because we’ve seen goalkeepers of a similar profile thrive after such switches before. Emi Martinez refused to sit on his hands any longer at Arsenal and excelled at Villa. Dean Henderson couldn’t secure the starting spot at Manchester United so he went to Palace to do just that.

Confident though he is, Kelleher lacks the uber-ego of those contemporaries, which is no bad thing. At Liverpool, he’s learned from one of the very best that goalkeepers don’t have to be exhibitionists. But Kelleher has shown in his sporadic appearances in the spotlight that he has what it takes to play a more starring role. And you would be brave to bet against Brentford that their new No.1 will be back in the Champions League before long.