Liverpool have been criticised for how the club has handled Simon Mignolet by former Anderlecht and Belgium keeper Wim De Coninck.
Mignolet is our current backup option to Alisson, but with the club exiting the EFL Cup at the first hurdle, it doesn’t look like the 30-year-old will play for us again unless the Brazilian gets either injured or suspended.
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De Coninck has praised Mignolet for his recent encouraging performance against the Netherlands for Belgium and stated Liverpool let him down by ‘pushing him aside’ for Loris Karius last term…
“[Mignolet] should have been more vocal at Liverpool, because the way he was pushed aside for Karius was below all standards,” he told Belgian media, translated by Sport Witness. “Simon has proved once again against the Netherlands that he ought to be a starter.”
In some ways, De Coninck has a point. Mignolet didn’t really do anything wrong last season, before he was permanently dropped for Karius – and our decision to not allow him a summer exit despite bringing in the world’s most expensive goalkeeper must have been difficult – especially after five years of loyal service.
But the reality is Mignolet is still very well paid and will likely get a move in January, providing Liverpool can source an ample backup to Alisson.
De Coninck’s point that Mignolet should never have been dropped for Karius in the first place is debatable. Neither were up to scratch, but the German’s speed off his line and supposed better distribution swayed Jurgen Klopp’s decision.
To be honest, both are leagues below Alisson at near enough everything – so it’s not especially important anymore.