Thursday, 4th July, 2013
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has explained that he is keen on competition between players in his squad, and that is one of the reasons he bought in another goalkeeper this summer.
The Reds snapped up Belgian custodian Simon Mignolet from Sunderland last month on a long-term contract, for a fee of £9m.
The 25-year-old made over 100 appearances for the Black Cats, having joined the club in the summer of 2010. He also kept 11 clean sheets out of 38 Premier League appearances last season.
"I always felt it was important for us to have competition right the way through the squad, and that includes the goalkeepers", Rodgers told his club’s official site.
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The Northern Irish boss also admitted to having talks with regular custodian Pepe Reina about his plans to add another goalkeeper this summer.
"I spoke to Pepe about this a few months back and told him we wanted to bring in another goalkeeper as real competition. Pepe has been terrific here, Brad Jones was excellent when he stood in last year, and I felt we needed another one.
"I was very open with my goalkeepers and they know the situation. Simon comes in and we’ve got great competition, and when you’ve got competition it pushes everyone to perform.”
Rodgers also poured praise on the Belgium international and said that he feels Mignolet can improve on his game with the Merseyside giants. He also believes that the goalkeeper’s fortunes with the Red Devils will take an upward turn.
"He’s got great stature and I think he was player of the season at Sunderland – and I really think he can improve on that talent.
"He’s part of the Belgian set-up and it’s really their golden era of players. Him coming here will hopefully increase his opportunities there also."
Mignolet – Belgian Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009/10 – is the first ever Belgian player to sign for the Reds.
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