Liverpool Transfer Rumours: Simon Mignolet Would Be Nice Addition This Summer

Liverpool would be very wise to continue their pursuit of Simon Mignolet.

The Daily Mirror's Tom Hopkinson and Dean Jones reported the Sunderland goalkeeper is on the Reds' shopping list for the summer transfer window:

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Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is to launch a £6.5 million bid for Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, writes the Sunday People.

Rodgers is on the lookout for a new stopper to replace Pepe Reina, who is set to leave Anfield this summer.

Stoke’s Asmir Begovic has been on the radar, but Black Cats No.1, Belgian star Mignolet, has now emerged as the man they want.

And Rodgers has the green light to make a formal offer.

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Before Liverpool supporters get too ahead of themselves, it's important to remember that £10 million has been rumored to be the fee it will take to get Mignolet, according to Matt Hardy of the Independent. Sunderland might accept a lesser fee, but £6.5 million is unlikely to be enough.

Plus, Sky Sports reported earlier in the week that Mignolet is happy to remain at the Stadium of Light next season.

A potential move should not be considered impossible. Money talks, especially in football—everybody has their price. Mignolet and Sunderland will be no different.

In order to pry the keeper away, the Reds will have to make both a solid fee to Sunderland and an adequate contract to the player.

At this point, it should be assumed that Pepe Reina will be calling another club home—likely Barcelona—next season, if reports such as John Cross' of the Mirror are true. It's good Liverpool are already looking at replacements, as they wouldn't want to be stuck trying to secure deals as the window closes in a few months.

That was a problem last summer when Liverpool tried unsuccessfully to sign Clint Dempsey from Fulham.

Ideally, the club would be able to get a young player like Thibaut Courtois, Marc-Andre ter Stegen or Rui Patricio, but those three seem unlikely transfers. They're among some of the most promising keepers in the world and would have a laundry list of potential suitors should they become available.

Without Champions League football, the Reds are a bit handicapped as to whom they can target. With Mignolet, he can step up his club stature by going from Sunderland to Liverpool while getting an increase in wages as well.

Since moving to Sunderland in 2010, Mignolet has been steadily improving. His clean sheets have been inching upward, from eight in 2010-11 to 10 in 2011-12 and then 11 in 2012-13. Reina has had 40 in the same time frame.

There's no doubting Mignolet would be a step below Reina next season, but the club is not going to find anybody if it will only accept players of equal ability to Reina. Although he's fallen off a bit in recent years, there's still only a handful of goalkeepers you'd take over the 30-year-old Spaniard.

Little by little, Brendan Rodgers is integrating the club's youth products along with what is a fairly young core of key contributors. By signing the 24-year-old Mignolet, Liverpool would be able to sign a young player who will grow along with the club.

In a year or two, when the club is more ready to push for Champions League football, Mignolet will be getting close to his prime, along with younger defenders like Martin Kelly, Andre Wisdom and Jack Robinson.

He's nowhere near a world-class level yet, but if Mignolet continues on his trajectory, the Reds would have a dependable option in goal for years to come.