The 27 year old has – to many fans consternation – been given a new contract
It may be well be a sentiment that is contrary to what about 95% of Reds fans think, but Jurgen Klopp appears fairly happy with the news that Simon Mignolet has signed a contract keeping him with the club until 2021.
The disbelief at the news that the Belgian was even being offered a new contract was palpable over the past couple of weeks so, as was to be expected, the moans and groans were very loud once the contract was actually signed yesterday.
But despite most of our better judgements, if Klopp believes in Mignolet, if he sees something there that he believes he can develop (that we’ve obviously missed), then surely it makes sense to at least give the manager the benefit of the doubt for the foreseeable future and just assume Mignolet will remain the club’s number one keeper. For now.
Speaking to assembled press (via Liverpoolfc.com) ahead of the FA Cup replay against Exeter tomorrow, Klopp said: “There have been a lot of games since I’ve been here and Simon, as is normal for a goalkeeper, was involved in one or the other goals we’ve conceded.
“We’ve thought about it all and in the end it is the package [and] Simon Mignolet is for us perfect because he is a smart guy, young enough to develop in the things he has to develop and he gives us all, the whole team, a good feeling when he is in the starting line-up, so that is really important.
“We thought about in and in the end the result was that we are sure we want to work together with him for the next years, that’s why we offered him a new contract.
“He took it and now he is Liverpool FC player for the next few years. Hopefully I can think about the next contract too with him, then we would have had success.
“So that’s all – I am really satisfied with this position and now we can go on.”
Having committed several more errors that lead either directly, or indirectly, to goals again in recent weeks has made many fans question the sense behind the decision. Particularly with reports that much higher quality keepers are there for the taking.
But for now, it appears that if Liverpool do sign any new players in the January window, it’s likely to be to fill other areas of the team. Quite whether Jurgen will have the same high opinion of Mignolet in another 6 months though, we shall see.
Do you agree with the Belgian international being given a new contract? Give us your thoughts in the comments.
