Former Real Madrid icon Iker Casillas has been surprisingly linked with a move to Liverpool (AS). After being deemed surplus to requirements at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Spanish goalkeeper moved to Porto in the summer of 2015. Since then, he has been a regular at the Portuguese club. One of the reasons for his departure from Madrid was the mediocre performances shown during his final couple of years at the club. However, Casillas once again seems to be back to his best, as he has been helping FC Porto rather well in a struggling campaign. Porto finished third in the league table – 15 points behind champions Benfica – as the club had a difficult campaign.
Liverpool are reportedly not satisfied with the goalkeeper options, despite having brought in Loris Karius only last summer. Simon Mignolet has been dividing opinion for quite a while, and it seems that manager Jurgen Klopp may very well take the plunge into Casillas if the former Real Madrid goalkeeper becomes available.
Signing Casillas will also be a major boost for the club ahead of the return to the Champions League.
Simon Mignolet, though, had a couple of words to say about his Anfield future. Amidst all the speculation about a potential exit in the summer, the Belgian claimed that he is feeling extremely happy at Liverpool and that he would like to continue going into next season. He was quoted by Daily Star saying;
“I’m pleased with how I have performed individually and together with the team. We’ve got a chance now for next season to show what Liverpool is about, to fight at the top in England but also in Europe.
“We have learned a lot since the manager arrived. We can take a lot of that into next season, which can be very exciting.”
Mignolet had to fight for his place in the first-team with Loris Karius earlier in the campaign. The new signing seemed destined for the role as the number one at the club. However, poor form meant that the summer signing was dropped in place of Mignolet midway through the campaign. While the club’s defensive record did improve sufficiently in the final few weeks of the campaign, it has still not been sufficient enough to rank Mignolet as a top goalkeeper amongst the critics.
Fresh reports from Spanish publication AS have suggested that Liverpool have been able to come to a pre-contract agreement with Iker Casillas over a potential transfer once the summer transfer window opens. Casillas’ contract with Porto runs out next summer, and it is likely that the Portuguese club will not stand in the way of the 36-year-old should he decide to leave. After having won numerous accolades including the FIFA World Cup, Casillas has little to prove in the game. However, he will be relishing the prospect of one last time at the top of the game.
