Breaking! Liverpool Shot Stopper Reveals About His Plans To Take On His Compatriot

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, in an interview, has revealed that he knew that he would face a stiff competition for the starting spot at the time he signed a new long-term contract with the Anfield outfit.

With him failing to prove his worth, the manager finally decided to bring a solid personnel for the spot and brought Loris Karius from the Bundesliga side, Mainz 05. Karius turned down an opportunity to represent Germany at the Rio Olympics this summer in a bid to press his first team claims at Anfield, before a broken hand ruled him out of the opening month of the campaign anyway.

Karius was initially ruled out for eight to 10 weeks but made speedy progress and has been given the green light to resume full training just six weeks on. Though he has returned, it is highly unlikely that the manager will use the German against Leicester, hence, Simon Mignolet is set to retain his place.

“When I signed that new contract the club said that there would be fresh competition,” he explained. “That is the normal thing – that you have three competitive goalkeepers.

“Besides Karius we also have Alex Manninger and all three of us get on well. I have already learned a lot from Alex. He is someone who has worked throughout Europe and gives me a lot of confidence.

“I’ve had competition in my entire career and that is normal when you are at a top club.

“There should always be competition, but only one goalkeeper can play. I can only look after my own performance on the pitch. The arrival of a new goalkeeper has changed nothing. I work hard, keep both feet on the ground and have confidence in myself.”

With Karius missing the games due to his injuries, the manager opted the Belgian as his number one man ahead of Manninger for the Premier League games, but it is understood that Karius will be the number one man for the team for the rest of the season. The German was assigned the number one jersey when he arrived from Mainz, but Mignolet says he was happy to let the new boy have that jersey.

“When I signed my new deal last year Liverpool suggested that I took the number one,” he added “but I never wanted it. For me it’s always been number 22. I ‘ve worn it throughout my career, all the way from STVV.