Grobbelaar attacks Mignolet again – says Liverpool asked him to stop criticising & that Klopp wants replacement

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Bruce Grobbelaar, our legendary stopper from the 1980s and early 1990s, has once again laid into current no.1 Simon Mignolet – who he previously described as the worst in the top flight.

Mignolet’s been largely good under Jurgen Klopp, and didn’t put a foot wrong away to Manchester City – but after two and a half seasons – still fails to properly fill the defence with confidence and is capable of a blunder.

“I’ve had my criticism of him for two or three years, I even got pulled in and asked not to criticise him so openly,” Grobbelaar told talkSPORT.

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“I’ve said that he is a goalkeeper who is a great shotstopper, but he is not the overall package. The overall package is good with your feet and coming out and commanding your area.

“I’ve got a goalkeeper in Canada, a 24-year-old, who does this better than Mignolet does and is just as good of a shotstopper. He is more of a package than Mignolet is.”

After doing a little research, we’ve discovered that the Zimbabwean is referring to Marcel DeBellis, a keeper who’s made just one professional appearance for the Canadian outfit having been previously released by Italian minnows Ascoli. That’s fairly disrespectful to a Premier League goalkeeper with multiple caps for Belgium, the country currently ranked no.1 in the world.

But Grobbelaar continued, claiming that Jurgen Klopp doesn’t rate the 27-year-old either.

“I think he is looking at it [buying a replacement for Mignolet]. There are a couple of goalkeepers in the German league that he is looking at so I can see that might be one of his first signings,” he concluded.

Liverpool have been heavily linked to Barcelona reserve Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Cologne stopper Timo Horn (via the Metro), and it’s likely that Grobbelaar is just referring to these press links rather than any insider knowledge.

Mignolet recently claimed that Klopp’s hugs inspire Liverpool players (via Sky Sports) and will be tremendously disappointed if he isn’t given until at least the end of the season to prove his worth.

One of the young Germans would certainly excite Liverpool fans, but both have their limitations, and for now, it’s important to get behind Mignolet and see if Klopp can improve him.

 

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