Caoimhin

“We talked before about who will be the player to take them to the World Cup? I think he is the biggest trump card.”

Former Liverpool and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann was full of praise for Caoimhin Kelleher after the Republic of Ireland’s 1-1 draw with Senegal.

Kelleher’s resolve was finally broken in the 81st minute after making three big saves to keep the African side out in Dublin.

It has been a big week for the 26-year-old, who left Liverpool to join Brentford for an initial £12.5m, which could rise to £18m with add-ons.

According to former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given, “in the current climate he’s worth every single penny, if not more”.

“No disrespect to Brentford, but I’m surprised there wasn’t a few more bigger clubs in,” Given said on RTE Sport.

“Unless clubs have gone, ‘let’s have a look at him at Brentford. We know they are a selling club, let’s see him as a number one for a year or two’.

“At 26 years of age he’s still plenty young enough. He looks the real deal”

Flekken, who has signed a three-year deal with Leverkusen, had been at Brentford since joining from Freiburg in May 2023.

The 31-year-old made 77 appearances for the west London club and helped them finish 10th in the Premier League last season.

“Mark has proven to be a seamless replacement for David Raya, who set an extremely high standard during his years with us,” added Giles.

“We were expecting Mark to be our goalkeeper for many more years, however when Bayer Leverkusen made it known that they wanted to do this transfer, and Mark made it clear that he was interested in moving closer to home and with a possibility of Champions League football, we turned our attention towards how all parties could make this happen.

“Mark has done a great job for us and leaves with our thanks and support.”

Leverkusen recently appointed former Ajax and Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag as their new manager following the departure of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid.

“Mark Flekken possesses a wide range of skills that a goalkeeper in modern top-flight football must possess,” said Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes.

“Mark exudes an impressive physical presence; from a footballing perspective, he has certainly been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the past two years.”

LIVERPOOL goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has been tipped for a shock move to fierce rivals Manchester United.

United’s goalkeeper crisis means they could look to sell Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir and release Tom Heaton this summer.

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Onana and No 2 stopper Bayindir are both prone to howlers, with United eyeing a complete reset.

Meanwhile Kelleher, capped 22 times for Ireland already, is understood to want to compete for regular minutes.

Kelleher secured his second Premier League title with Liverpool this season but only started 10 games with Alisson ahead of him in the pecking order.

Prominent United reporter at ESPN Mark Ogden has put Kelleher on his shortlist of potential goalkeepers to replace Onana.

Ogden said: “Kelleher wants to move, he wants to play football.

“It would be good deal at such a low price to get someone with proven experience in English football.”

Liverpool value the 26-year-old in excess of £20million, with Brentford also interested.

The champions have only been open to selling him since securing Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia last summer.

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Meanwhile, Aston Villa No 1 Emi Martinez is the bookie’s favourite to replace Onana at Old Trafford.

SunSport exclusively revealed that Martinez, twice voted Best Goalkeeper in the world, is reportedly up for the challenge.

Martinez, 32, fuelled speculation when he broke down in tears and  took a bow in front of the Holte End after Villa’s final home game of the season.

The World Cup winner’s contract runs until 2029 but a bid of £40million or more would ease Villa’s PSR concerns.