2 Mar 2013

'Things change quickly' - LFC eye 'fantastic' £10m Belgian star. Good news...?

With the recent departure of Doni, and the inconsistent form of Pepe Reina (bar today's game where he had a stormer), Liverpool are still in the market for a new goalkeeper, and the latest stopper to be linked with a summer move to Anfield is Sunderland star Simon Mignolet.

Reports today claim that Liverpool have a 'keen interest' in the Belgian international, who has put in a raft of impressive performances this season, and is currently third Premier League clean-sheets league. £10m

With interest rising, Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill wants to tie £10m-rated Mignolet down to a new contract ASAP, and he reiterated this in an interview with the Shields Gazette this week. He said:

“Simon still has two more years left to run on his current contract, but we would like to do something and that is something I want to push forward. If anyone deserves a new deal this season it is Simon, without a doubt. He has been fantastic for us.”

Earlier this week, Mignolet's representative, Guy Vandermissen hinted that the 24-year old is thinking about a move away. He told ATV:

"Our ambition is for Simon to play somewhere that he can engage in competition with Thibaut Courtois for the place in goal for Belgium. Courtois is fortunate that he is playing for a team that has been doing well lately."

In statement on Sunderland's official website, Mignolet moved to clarify his Vandermissen's comments, claiming they'd be 'taken out of context. He noted:

"Things change quickly. All those clubs I am linked with, if I make a mistake on Saturday, I will be un-linked straight away. It will be the exact opposite and that’s why I don’t really get fussed about it"

In an interview earlier this week, O'Neill compared Mignolet with two of the British game's greatest every goalkeepers. He told Sky Sports:

"I've played with Pat Jennings and Peter Shilton and he's got a similar approach to both. He [Mignolet] is still very young and he's got a similar mentality to those two, if he ends up having half the career of those two I'll be ecstatic"

Pepe Reina put in a superb performance today in Liverpool's 4-0 hammering of Wigan Athletic, but the Spaniard has struggled for consistency this season, and excellent performances are the exception rather than the rule this season.

Ali Al-Habsi - another Liverpool target - didn't have much luck today, and I think it's safe to predict that he'll soon be scrubbed off the Reds' wanted list.

Earlier this week, Mignolet was named 2012 North East Football Writers' Association's player of the year. Possible summer signing?



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39 comments:

  1. Have
    you missed the game? If you wish you can always watch it in full on http://www.footballwatch.net/team/37

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  2. To be honest, if we really have to replace Reina, we have to sign ter Stegen as he's a monster.
    I doubt this chap would be happy being a backup and I very much doubt that FSG would sanction a £10 million deal for a reserve goalkeeper.

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  3. JustCan'tGetEnough10:01 pm, March 02, 2013

    Rather have Vorm from Swansea or Steklenburg from Roma. Mignolet has had a great season no doubt about it but there are better keepers out there then him.

    Vorm will come available especially when the likes of Chelski and Madrid are lurking around Laudrup, cnt see him staying once Laudrups gone.

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  4. Yes 'Things change quickly' - & yes we need another stopper but it doesn't matter to me at the mo. I'm wallowing in the progress made to date. I wonder how all the doubters are feeling now but any true Liverpool fan will forgive them. Consistency next. Lock&Load :)

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  5. Ter Stegen all day long. Fits the transfer policy of LFC. Need to be more ambitious with signings if we are truly serious about moving up the league next season

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  6. He's brilliant, mate!

    He kept M'gladbach up last season and he'll be a difficult acquisition but, for the next 10-15 years, if we can have (potentially) one of the best keepers in the world, it'll be a worthwhile acquisition.

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  7. pepe did do well today, but we do need to look to the future.

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  8. Dont you just love what BR is achieving at our club, onwards and upwards.

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  9. yes i love an end of season party in march

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  10. Too bad we are out of the top 4 reach now unless those teams make mistakes then our closest place would be number 5. But lets enjoy the moment now. :D

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  11. yep just thinkin of all the poke iv saved not haven to go to wembley 3 times in one season yep brian i just love what fsg and br have done 4 our club!

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  12. If we get a result against spurs, then buckle your seatbelts, because there will be one very hectic end to our season. couldn't give a shit about transfers at the moment. I know these rumours are news worthy, but there's been so many rumours on here that I've grown absolutely tired of them, no matter how good the 'target' is!

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  13. We already do have (potentially) one of the best keepers in the world, Pepe Reina.

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  14. I think we can beat Spurs. However if he do beat them we will probly just lose the next game...which is typical of Liverpool for the last 4 years at least. 

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  15. That is football, win lose or draw we will still be Liverpool fans. Being positive as fans is vital for players. The energy we as fans generate will have a positive effect on players.
    Be optimistic and enjoy the ride. Go on you Reds.

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  16. im not getting to carried away we beat a very poor wigan team...and a team who played half a team with an eye on the final...the test is how we perform at spurs...if they beat us we are no further forward from last year in fact we are going backwards

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  17.  i think we can beat spurs but i also think they can beat us..if its that much of a knap get down the bookies with all the other dreamers and get some serious wedge on it...you wony because you know there is a good chance we will get beat,

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  18. i dont think the players are that arsed what a load of fans on a forum they have never heard of write...all there bothered about is there big fat check and if they are in the team

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  19. You don't make much sense. 

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  20. It's funny when luis or liverpool playing awesome football JK's comment is no where to be seen,like a mouse hiding in the hole but when luis do something bad he is alll... over the guy Lol...where are you JK?

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  21. my point is if we are that good get down the bookies and back Liverpool against spurs ...granted you can only beat whats in front of you but wigan where awful ...if we whoop spurs ill jump aboad  the rogers express

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  22. yah no trophies and a potential sixth place...we are really going places

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  23. Game by game we can beat anyone. But you will hop off the Rogers Express when we lose, which takes us back to my original point of inconsistency. So my money is safer in my pocket. 

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  24. Yeah just look what those Bastards FSG have done to our club.. They only saved Liverpool from Administration, wiped the debt clean and given a number of managers a wedge of cash to spend... Those Bastards !!!!! 

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  25. with Reina as 1st keeper liverpool will never get top4 place or become a top class team, simply not enough for that level

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  26. no we had potentially one of the best keepers in world but hes been found out

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  27. yes and treated the KING like shite 

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  28. Spurs play Inter on thursday which makes it a good time to play them. We will be fresh and hopefully spurs will be tired

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  29. But that will only fuel the doubters with comments of "Spurs were tired". 
    We won ugly, yesterday, not necessarily with our play but Wigan had more attempts at goal than we did and we were clinical in the first half: out first 3 shots on goal went in, when was the last time that happened?

    Brendan needs to get it right next Sunday, we need to have the same level of intensity as we did against Zenit - press the life out of them, and attack hard & fast. If he's fit, I can see Sturridge leading the line with Suarez taking Downing's place. We'll have more space up top as Spurs like to attack rather than sit back, so Coutinho & Suarez could end up with acres of space and Sturridge is faster than most centre backs. 

    A big win would see a level of confidence we've been missing for a while - it could be a game changer.

    I'm going for 3-1 Liverpool.

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  30. I also wonder how the amount of spam / nonsense links for players fits into the 'Critical realism about LFC' statement!

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  31. Good point. But I was reffering to fans out there on the terraces.

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  32. Last year we won 1 and lost 6 in the 7 games we played last year. We only have to win 3 more games to match last season. We have have passed the total amount of goals scored than last season in total. That's going backwards mmmmm...

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  33. When he wasted 100million on complete dirt mid table players,Now just think about it what if we spent that money on 3 or 4 world class players? We'd certainly be in the top four if not nearly challenging for the league 

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  34.  well when we have won them 3 games ill assess the situation

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  35. this website is s disgrace

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  36. SAFC supporter here. I would be horrified at letting him go for as little at £10m. He is one of our few genuinely Premier standatrd (as in midtable or above) players, Sess and maybe Fletcher the others (Johnspn shd be but isn't so far, Rose isn't ours). So I am delighted in Liverpool fans think he's not even worth that/. Oh, and I'd cheerfully throttle his agent

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  37. I was more leaning the 'spot on' for the signing of Ter Stegen

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  38. Pepe's a top keeper, but I get the impression he forgets what he's capable of. Wigan game will do a lot for his confidence.

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