Simon Mignolet was never a fan favorite at Liverpool. No one was ever confident with Mignolet in goal for the Reds. Many of the fans never supported his transfer to Liverpool anyway. He looked like he proved everyone wrong with his first run of games, but his form took a deep dip in the second of the half of the 2013/14 season and many Liverpool fans blame Mignolet for Liverpool not winning the league that season.
His second season at Liverpool was also poor until he turned things around in the second half of the season. He ended up as the goalkeeper with second most cleans sheets in the league. The Belgian is also the goalkeeper with the second most clean sheets in the premier league in 2015. Everyone agrees to the fact that he is a great shot stopper, but they don’t consider him as a complete goalkeeper. The fact that he is not a complete goalkeeper also brings to conclusion that he is not good enough for a club like Liverpool.
Bruce Grobbelaar, who is a big critic of Mignolet, said earlier this week that Liverpool told him not to criticize Mignolet anymore. He also told that Jurgen Klopp is in search for a new goalkeeper for Liverpool. Mignolet made a very poor decision by holding on to the ball for more than 20 seconds against Bordeaux last week. The resulting indirect freekick from inside the box paved way for Bordeaux’s goal.
Mignolet’s shaky performances for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp’s arrival at Liverpool made the media to link Liverpool with some Bundesliga goalkeepers. We take a look at three Bundesliga goalkeepers that Liverpool could buy. All these goalkeepers were once linked with Liverpool.
1. Timo Horn:
The 22 year old goalkeeper plays for FC Koln, who are currently standing at 10th in the Bundesliga table. He has kept 5 clean sheets from 14 appearances for Koln. His most impressive performance this season came against Schalke where the game ended in a 0-0 draw. He was the Man Of The Match according to Whoscored.com. Like Mignolet, his main strength is shot stopping. He cannot be called a complete goalkeeper but would be a great buy for Liverpool. And his ‘German Connection’ with Klopp can bring the best out of him. His market value is £6million.
2. Loris Karius:
The 22 year old goalkeeper plays for Mainz 05, who are currently 9th in the Bundesliga. He has kept 3 clean sheets from the 13 appearances for Mainz. He has a connection with the premier league as he was once an academy player for Manchester City. He constantly gives fine performances for Mainz. Karius is known for his shot stopping and penalty saving skills (whoscored.com). He is also a German who would love to work under Klopp and boost his career.
3. Bernd Leno:
The 23 year old goalkeeper plays for Bayer Leverkusen, who are currently sixth in the Bundesliga. Out of these three goalkeepers, Leno is the most rated and experienced goalkeeper. He is also the most complete goalkeeper out of the three. He has kept 4 clean sheets from his 13 appearances for Leverkusen. The German has Champions League experience and is good at shot stopping, kicking, handling, etc. Although, he has not been at his best lately, he still is a good option for Klopp to look into. Rated at around 16 million, Leno is one for the future.
