The 27-year-old joined Liverpool’s academy at 16, debuted in 2019, and contributed to the 2024-25 Premier League title as well as playing a key role in the Carabao Cups in 2022 and 2024 as he proved to be one of the best backup keepers on the planet.
However, Kelleher was often playing second fiddle to Alisson Becker and was only ever handed game time when the Brazilian was injured or when cup games came along.
For a player like Kelleher this was not good enough, and he knew that he could excel elsewhere in the Premier League. The arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili pushed Kelleher further out the side, and finally he found himself at Brentford.
Kelleher told the Ben Foster podcast about how he left the Reds and how easy it was to leave after years of having to watch the majority of games from the sidelines.
"It was a big decision, to be fair, but the timing was right for me as well," Kelleher explained on the Ben Foster podcast. "I was there 10 years – started when I was 16 at the Academy, and then all the way through, probably about five years with the first team.
"But I never had any loans or anything like that. So, all my playing experience was Liverpool – mostly as the no.2.
"It was hard leaving, because I've got good friendships there and good people are there. But in terms of football, it was probably an easy decision, to be honest.
“Of course, I want to be playing every week – that's just not the way it was. Being a no.2 is hard; you get a few games, and you must do well. But it worked out well for me in the end at Liverpool."
Kelleher managed just 25 league appearances for Liverpool and has since made 14 this season for the Bees as he forges his own path away from the Premier League champions.