7 Mar 2013

Transfer Swap: LFC to sacrifice midfielder for 'fantastic' €11m star. Good deal...?

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina put in a great performance against Wigan at the weekend, but reports this week continue to suggest that Liverpool are still intent on replacing the Spaniard, with Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet high on the Reds' wanted list. Brendan Rodgers is 'keen' to get his man, and according to one report this week, he may be willing to sacrifice one of the club's midfielders to push the transfer through.

According to The Mirror, Rodgers 'admires' Swansea's Michel Vorm, and 'foreign keepers are being studied', but €11m-rated Mignolet is Liverpool's top target:

"Liverpool are keen and may send Sunderland old boy Jordan Henderson in the ­opposite direction to clinch the deal. Rodgers would be reluctant to let the midfielder go and certainly not on the cheap".

Henderson has definitely improved this season, and it would be a shame to lose him now, but the brutal truth is the club can survive without him. Hendo is a good squad player, but will Liverpool really miss him if he leaves? I doubt it, and return to his hometown club may be an appealing prospect.

Despite his protestations to the contrary, Rodgers clearly doesn't see Henderson as a long-term option. Indeed, he tried to swap him for Clint Dempsey last summer, and despite the midfielder's recent good form, Rodgers has still subbed/benched Hendo in 4 of the last 5 games.

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"

Earlier this week, O'Neill compared Mignolet - who was named North East Football Writers' Association's player of the year last week - 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. He has been fantastic for us"

Hendo for Mignolet: a good swap?





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56 comments:

  1. Don't Sign mignolet, Keep Reina, Give Henderson one more season to prove himself as he is still young and improving. The only signings we should make this summer is Diame because he is a midfield powerhouse (which is something we need for cover for Lucas) and possibly a 4th striker. Making to many changes won't let the team gel.

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  2. i don't think Reina will leave, he's been quite vocal over LFC's future over the past few days so hopefully he will stay and continue the good form he showed at Wigan. On form and i think most people would agree he's one of the best keepers in the world. Don't want another Alonso farce on our hands. 

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  3. I think selling Henderson would be a massive mistake. He has made a lot of progress this season and if not for Coutinho recently, he would start every week. 

    Against Wigan, the only player that actually deserved to come off the bench was Hendo. Shelvey, Suso, Assaidi didn't get a look in. 

    If you want to sign a first team keeper, sell your current one. 

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  4. no chance why henderson will they not take allen

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  5. Reina isn't to be replaced by Mignolet or any new keeper, whoever the new stopper is he will be No2 to Reina. Jones doesn't cut the mustard as No2, he was only ever No3 behind Doni anyway, unfortunately Doni has had to retire because of his heart attack (YNWA Doni) so a decent No2 has to be found soon. 

    I'm sure BR is grateful to you Jaimie for your advice on which players to replace, currently Skrtel, Reina and Suarez, I seem to remember you're not so keen on Enrique either. Lol.

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  6. If there's only 1 replacement for Reina, it must be Marc ter-Stegen or not at all. I agree to sell Henderson cuz I think the style he plays is often slow the tempo of our game. Maybe I'm wrong or maybe I just want LFC to be ruthless towards any opposition. Anyway I'd like to have any of this name to replace Hendo: Honda, Strootman, Stepanenko, or my dream signing Hamsik or Wilshere.

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  7. I would rather keep Henderson. Reina has shown that he does clearly still have the ability to be a top keeper, and replacing him wont be easy. Mignolet, is a good keeper, and would be a good option, but I think it would be good to let him learn from Reina, but I cant see Mignolet joining and wanting to sit on the bench.

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  8. If he costs 11 million we can buy him outright so why swap him for one of the revelations of our season? As for Courtois being lucky to be in a team that has been doing well lately. Them doing well coincided with Courtois going to Atletico. Coincidence? Don't think so. Courtois can win matches for teams. Mignolet is a decent shot stopper.Courtois is ahead of him because he's much much better.

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  9. Rodgers buy so no chance he'll be going.

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  10. I'm not giving Rodgers my 'advice', I'm just giving an opinion, which is what millions of fans do every day. And yes, I'd replace all four you mention above. Should bring in about £80-£90m for the lot, which is plenty of money for rebuilding.

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  11. It would be bad news to lose Henderson, especially now that we've got such an exciting and creative front line. Henderson is just the guy you want who quickly and accurately gets those short passes to whoever is available, and unlike the rest of our midfielders, he is especially adept at providing service in tight spaces.


    Henderson for me is our central mid who brings balance to our midfield with a work rate matched only by Lucas if at all. Perhaps our only player truly capable of feeding our front line similarly is Suso, but Suso isn't as physical and his workrate is not that ridiculously high.

    I say we should try to get Vorm, but not at the cost of Hendo.

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  12. probably the smartest answer ive read. If reina is leaving why wouldnt we just use the money to buy mignolet ouright

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  13. he admitted he got it wrong with the lad from real madrid so who,s to say he will not cut his losses with allen imo more fans will turn against him if continues to play allen infront of hendo on current form

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  14. bill forget to mention agger johnsonas well lol;-)

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  15. i,ve said it before and i will say it again if pepe wants to stay we would be mad to force him out,we have had a long line of dodgy keepers since grobs but pepe is not one of them yet,fair enough hes made a few mistakes,but we could end up with another calamity james

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  16. It is difficult to breathe as frequently as you link players with Liverpool.

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  17. I agree trade Allen Henderson does add something and is athletic and works hard on the pitch.

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  18. Agreed! Everyone makes mistakes.

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  19. On the money here. Ter Stegen is a monster and could possibly go on to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. Already, in the eyes of the Borrussia Munchengladbach fans, he's a hero as his 3 goals conceded in the last 6 games of last season kept them in the top flight. 

    Yes, I understand that he'll cost a lot of money but, if rumours of selling Reina are to be believed, then so will he!

    Even if we only sign one player in the summer and it's him, I'll be happy. We have a wealth of talent in the U21s who will be ready to come through: Coady, Teixiera, Adjoran, Morgan, Ibe. Suso was immense the other night, Sterling will be rested and will improve, Assiadi can come through, Kelly and/or Wisdom can move to the centre or Coates can be given another chance. Henderson will improve as he matures and gets more familiar with the system, as will Shelvey and Allen.

    We're not short of players, we may be short of players with confidence and the work ethic of Suarez but aren't most teams? I watched the Real v Man Utd game on Tuesday and, for all the hype surrounding RVP with the player of the year vote, he looked less than ordinary. If they had Suarez in their team then they would have destroyed Real. I'll have a watch at how Bale does tonight against Inter. No doubt he'll have more of an influence on his club's fortunes but, as he destroyed them last time they met, I've a feeling he might be marked out of the game and/or kicked off the park. Having said that, there's always the chance that he'll be spending Sunday on the physio's table!

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  20. Bang on about James: I would have investigated him for match fixing with the amount of dropped balls and flappy attempts at trying to save the ball. Then when he left us, surprise, surprise, he turns out good and gets handed the England jersey. Go figure!

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  21. if we were to believe what we were told it would have been 10 million for the season and he still was not a lfc player

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  22. hendo could go on and become a really good player i do not have the same feeling about allen just my opinion

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  23. sorry m8 you must be on about another david james the one i am on about never turned good lol;-)

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  24. and gerrard i think we have covered them all now;-)

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  25. Allen is better than Henderson, much more potential. I like Henderson btw and dont want him sold.

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  26. and when your a keeper usually there is no second chance m8

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  27. Henderson has the potential to be another Joe Cole (Peak). He has the vision and the heart to work hard.

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  28. If BR does decide to sells Reina then we must get a good goalkeeper (Stegen comes to mind, an absolutely wonderful goalkeeper).

    Henderson although having improved would not be missed if he left, I don't think we need him or Allen, but we must keep one.

    But I think we should keep him.

    I would still sell Downing and Skrtel if a good offer comes for him.

    Downing will not improve I don't think and if we can get £10M for him (doubtful) then I wish him all the best.

    We still need to get a goalkeeper, 1 defender, Right back, Defensive Midfielder, winger.

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  29. thats your opinion how as he more potential

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  30. The only signings? We need massive upgrades in defense as well.

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  31. Fair one: less crap than he was with us.

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  32. I agree withh keeping Reina and maybe Henderson. But defence totally not mentioned is strange. Top of the list would be central defender . It's so obvious. We aren't defending well n failure to defend setpieces has been too regular that every time a spot kick given to opponents you just feel like somethings about to happen.  So CD is top n then a Diame then another striker followed by LB. Don't like Glen Johnson on the left. 

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  33. Ur so right on Hendo. Atleast he has improved under Rodgers n no longer the "passenger" passing backwards n sides that Kenny insisted on starting all the time even when others were performing . Still I won't feel anything if he is sacrificed. Glad he improved n is a much better player than he was at Sunderland n even when he worked under Kenny. Coz if he is still the player Kenny bought, we'll be stuck with him coz there won't be any takers from the PL.

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  34. No he doesn't.  He may have the heart n good attitude.... But his vision n all the upstairs on football ?.....  Is the most that he lacks. But he certainly is a better player now then he was at Sunderland n under Kenny. It's good news that he improved or we can't sell him. Not for 8m pounds even.

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  35. Agree...massive. Defense first.  The striker pool is maturing well.

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  36. We had both City and Arsenal on the ropes and let them back into the game through poor defending. No way we should drop two games to WBA either.   10 points squandered through poor defense.

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  37. I'd keep Henderson. He's proficient, though not an expert, in all 3 central midfield roles. He played on the right last season and on the left this. He can play right back and right wing back at a stretch and he has a very good attitude. I think unless we're going to get £10mil+ for him, or we have a dynamite replacement waiting in the wings, we should keep him.

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  38. I don't like Glen Johnson on the team. Would love to see him sent packing and someone much much better brought in, then someone only slightly less talented on the bench behind him.

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  39. Agreed.

    Given the right expectations, he can fit really well into this system, and he's shown it this year.

    He's not going to go out and score 10 goals a season.  But he'll play solid in a holding role and even better when his primary objective is to press the opposition into a turnover.

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  40. jordan henderson is not welcome back bad player. chicken that doesnt stop running. mignolet a very very good shot stopper but distribution is shocking and for a b.rodgers goalkeeper i dont think it suits liverpool.

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  41. Know what you mean,the way he beat four Wigan players last week and slid the ball through for Suarez hat-trick goal ....Useless!

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  42.  how so.....hendo  is bigger faster and english ,,,3 things allen can never be

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  43. ive watched this goali and he is average at best

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  44. and the biggest elephant in the room borini

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  45. One good moment out of countless attempts. You might as well also say "That one time Andy Carroll scored was brilliant too, totally justified the amount spent on him, and we were so much better with him in the squad than with Sturridge..."

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  46. wt evr, chase the world class plyer,n win the champio leug next seson

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  47. GJ has been one of our most consistent players for 3 seasons....not sure what you've been watching!

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  48. Henderson has far better physical attributes works harder and is a better tackler and makes better decisions and can attack what the heck does Allen do.

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  49. Yes, Johnson has been consistent...at making mistakes. Over the last 3 years, he is possibly LFC's most error-prone defender. Every season, he is guaranteed to make mistakes that lead to goals. This season, he hasn't been as bad, but that's the exception not the rule.

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  50. Right back ???? Don't you mean Left Back....at Right back we have Johnson, Kelly, Wisdom, Flanagan and I look forward to hopefully seeing Ryan McLaughlin push his name into the equation there as he looks like a great prospect.

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  51. Jordan Henderson fits perfectly into Rodgers Style of play...I can not think for a minute he would want to sell him. His short passing is excellent and his engine is unreal which makes him perfect for pressing the opposition when they are in possession which is exactly what Liverpools style of play completely depends on. Not only that he is only 22, capt of the England Under 21's where he has been brilliant for them. Would be amazed if Rodgers wanted rid of him.

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  52. i knew i had missed someone but the impact hes had hes easy to forget hes at the club;-)

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  53. Apparently I'm watching the same thing Jaimie is.

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  54. reina has had one decent game.people dont jump on the reina bandwagon hes costs us in every big game ( big one on sunday) mark my words he will f"ck up again he been crap 4 3seasons and should get shut

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