Caoimhin Kelleher has been touted by numerous reports – and even encouraged by his international boss – to move on from Liverpool this summer, and he seemingly has no shortage of suitors.
According to the Irish Independent, the Premier League trio of Tottenham, Brentford and Brighton are all interested in the goalkeeper.
The 24-year-old’s compatriot Keith Treacy, a former top-flight midfielder with Blackburn, believes that one of those clubs in particular could be a perfect fit for the Republic of Ireland international.
The 34-year-old said on the RTE Soccer Podcast: “There are options. I think Brentford would be a match made in heaven.
“I think under Thomas Frank, they have this learning ethos that nobody gets on anybody’s back when they make mistakes and I think Caoimhin would really thrive in that sort of situation.”
At surface level, Brentford would indeed appear an ideal destination for Kelleher if he’s to leave Liverpool this summer.
The west Londoners have been a revelation in the Premier League under Frank over the past couple of years, finishing ninth in the most recent campaign, and they still operate with comparatively little pressure or expectation compared to other top-flight clubs.
Also, the Bees’ current first-choice ‘keeper David Raya has been touted to depart the Gtech Community Stadium, having rejected offers of a contract extension (Manchester Evening News), so that could create an opening for a place in the team.
However, Kelleher will be patently aware of the queue of goalkeepers currently at Brentford, where the Spaniard is already keeping Thomas Strakosha and Matthew Cox out of the line-up.
It also seems as if Frank’s side have planned for Raya’s prospective exit by signing Mark Flekken for £11m last week (BBC Sport), so the Irishman could already find a barrier to entry in west London if he teams up with the Bees.
The whole point of the 24-year-old leaving Liverpool is that he’d be guaranteed regular game-time elsewhere, and if he can’t be assured of that at the Gtech Community Stadium, it’d be daft for the Reds to allow him go there.