Caoimhin Kelleher already being linked with transfer to major Liverpool rival

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Former Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has helped Brentford reach seventh in the Premier League table, with European soccer now a real possibility for the London club

Caoimhin Kelleher is having a great season(Image: Getty Images)

Glen Johnson has urged Chelsea to target Caoimhin Kelleher this summer — just a year after the goalkeeper's exit from Liverpool.

Brentford signed Kelleher, 27, from the Reds in an £18 million ($24 million) deal last summer. The Irishman decided to leave Merseyside in pursuit of regular Premier League action after failing to get ahead of Alisson Becker in the pecking order.

Kelleher is enjoying an impressive debut campaign in London. He's missed just one of Brentford's 28 Premier League games this season to give the Bees a chance of qualifying for Europe. They are seventh in the table, just five points behind fifth-placed Liverpool.

The Reds were always unlikely to sell Kelleher to a Premier League title rival, such as Chelsea, but he's now free to move to a top European club after ending his decade-long spell at Anfield.

And Johnson believes Chelsea should swoop for Kelleher after an unconvincing display from Robert Sanchez. Chelsea's current No. 1 was at fault for Jurrien Timber's winning goal during his team's 2-1 Premier League loss to Arsenal at the weekend.

Speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest football odds, former Liverpool and Chelsea defender Johnson said: "Caoimhin Kelleher would definitely be the less risky option right now.

Ex-Liverpool star Glen Johnson believes Chelsea could swoop for Kelleher(Image: Getty Images)

"And again, that's not to say who's going to be the better player in two or three years, but Kelleher, anytime he was called upon for Liverpool, was fantastic.

"He's now still doing another good job at Brentford. So if I had to pick a target now for Chelsea, it'd definitely be him. He's done it with Liverpool, a big club in big games and big tournaments. So I'd say that's the safest option."

Kelleher joined Liverpool's academy from Ringmahon Rangers, a team based in the Irish city of Cork, as a 16-year-old in 2015.

The goalkeeper was on the bench for Liverpool's 2019 Champions League final win against Tottenham before making his first-team debut for Liverpool a few months later.

While Kelleher never did nail down a spot in Liverpool's starting XI, he still made 67 first-team appearances for the Reds and played in some big games, as Johnson alluded to.

Kelleher started Liverpool's Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2022, keeping a clean sheet as the Reds won the trophy. And he did the exact same when the two teams met in the final of the same competition two years later.

Kelleher also started last season's Carabao Cup final against Newcastle, but the Reds were on the losing side on that occasion.

Liverpool.com says: It wouldn't be a surprise to see Kelleher move to a big club in the future. He may even return to Liverpool and finally become the club's first-choice goalkeeper when Alisson calls time on his glittering Anfield career.