Liverpool are considering bringing Pepe Reina back to the club as backup for Loris Karius, reports Spanish outlet MARCA, translated by the Express.
They suggest that with the Spaniard out of contract at Napoli this summer, Jurgen Klopp is thinking about signing Reina on a Bosman transfer.
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Their report claims AC Milan are frontrunners for the 35-year-old’s signature, but that Liverpool are now also in contention.
If (or more likely, when) Simon Mignolet departs, we wouldn’t be averse to this…
Reina was exceptional for Liverpool during the first five years of his Merseyside tenure, when he was rightly regarded as one of the world’s best stoppers between 2005 and 2010.
In that time, he won the FA Cup in 2006 and almost the Premier League in 2008/09 when we were pipped to the post by Manchester United.
His level did drop off though, especially when Brendan Rodgers joined, with the Northern Irishman moving him on and bringing in Mignolet as Liverpool’s no.1.
Now, ironically, Reina could return and replace the Belgian, five years later.
He’s still a good communicator and a very strong distributor, something Klopp will love.
His shot-stopping is occasionally suspect, though, but for a no.2 keeper, he’s still of a very high level.
After all, he did the job at Bayern Munich not long ago.
If Liverpool are adamant that Karius will remain as no.1, and it seems that way, then bringing in a solid reserve is the best we can hope for.