How likely Leeds United are of signing Liverpool star Caoimhin Kelleher | OneFootball

Fresh reports suggest that Brentford have moved ahead of both Leeds United and West Ham United in the race for Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

Leeds United are returning to the Premier League next season and the Whites have been at the centre of plenty of speculation since their promotion was confirmed, but fresh reports indicate that they are set to miss out on the signing of Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

Having gained promotion on Easter Monday, there were suggestions that Leeds could still sack Daniel Farke but those reports were quashed by chairman Paraag Marathe after they had won the league title on the final day of the season, thanks to a last-gasp 2-1 win at Home Park against Plymouth Argyle.

Other reports have linked duo Ethan Ampadu and Mateo Joseph with a move to West Ham United, whilst the latter is also said to be the subject of renewed interest from Real Betis.

In terms of incomings, there have been plenty of links, too, with the likes of Leonardo Balerdi, Tomas Soucek and Sean Longstaff all rumoured targets for the club, but they are set to miss out on the permanent addition of Manor Solomon.

In what is expected to be a busy summer transfer window for the Yorkshire giants, a priority position does appear to be a goalkeeper and a move for Kelleher is being mooted.

Brentford ahead of Leeds in Kelleher race

According to Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg, Brentford are pushing to sign Kelleher from Liverpool with talks between the player and the club ‘ongoing’.

The report suggests that Kelleher is now ‘expected’ to replace Netherlands international Mark Flekken at the Gtech Community Stadium, who looks likely to move on to Erik ten Hag’s Bayer Leverkusen.

Plettenberg’s Sky Sports colleague Lyall Thomas has suggested that Liverpool value Kelleher at around £20 million, whilst Flekken could depart for around 10 to 14 million euros.

Thomas has reported that, as well as Brentford, both Leeds and West Ham are thought to be keen on the Republic of Ireland international.

26-year-old Cork-born Kelleher has made 67 appearances for Liverpool helping them win a Premier League title, the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Champions League and a UEFA Super Cup.

Leeds’ tricky goalkeeping situation

The reason that Leeds will be prioritising the goalkeeper position is because of the poor form of Illan Meslier throughout the 2024/25 season, and perhaps even further back than that.

The former France youth international was eventually dropped by Daniel Farke for the final seven games of their title-winning campaign after several high-profile errors. In those seven games, Leeds collected 19 points as they pipped Burnley to the title.

Karl Darlow stepped in for Meslier and the Wales international conceded just three goals in those seven games, keeping four crucial clean sheets, but there is an expectation that they will want to upgrade on the former Newcastle United shot stopper.

Leeds did only concede 30 goals in their 46 league games this season but there is a feeling that number should have actually been a fair bit less, given how much they were able to control and dominate their opponents throughout the campaign.