Liverpool Transfer News: Simon Mignolet Arrival Puts Pressure on Pepe Reina

Competition can either cause elevated performance from everybody involved or lead to issues that could derail a season. Liverpool are going to take their chances with a battle between Pepe Reina and summer acquisition Simon Mignolet for the No. 1 goalkeeper spot.

Manager Brendan Rodgers said he was open with Reina throughout the process, letting him know there was a good chance they would bring in somebody to challenge him, according to Sky Sports. The Reds boss thinks it will help the squad as a whole:

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I always felt it was important for us to have competition right the way through the squad, and that includes the goalkeepers.

I spoke to Pepe about this a few months back and told him we wanted to bring in another goalkeeper as real competition. I was very open with my goalkeepers and they know the situation.

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The decision puts an immense amount of pressure on the veteran keeper, who's spent the past eight seasons as a consistent member of the Liverpool starting lineup. Being forced to earn it every week will be an interesting test.

Mignolet will enter the competition hungry. He's a young keeper looking to prove himself with a high-profile club after starring at Sunderland over the past couple seasons. Beating out Reina to earn the top spot would be a major step.

On the flip side, Reina won't want to relinquish the position he's held for so long. That's especially true since he was linked to Barcelona, his former club, earlier in the offseason.  

Barca will eventually be looking for somebody to replace Victor Valdes. If Reina isn't able to outshine Mignolet at Liverpool, it will raise serious questions about his ability to potentially handle the Barcelona job. If he wants to keep his options open moving forward, he needs to have a strong campaign.

So it's clear neither goalkeeper should lack motivation. Exactly how the pressure of a competition will impact them is the unknown.

On the surface, it would seem to favor Reina because of his added experience. At 30, there aren't many situations left that he hasn't either been through or witnessed during his career. He can use that to his advantage leading into and during the season.

But Mignolet is no stranger to competition. He pointed that out in comments passed along by Graeme Yorke of the Daily Mail:

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That’s always what has happened when there’s competition. I've had competition in Sunderland and in Belgium with the national team.

It’s not only Pepe - there’s a lot of good goalies at Liverpool, like Brad Jones for example - and it’s not only the position of the goalie where there is competition. It’s every single position on the field.

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If nothing else, the competition should add some intrigue to Liverpool's preseason preparations. Both Reina and Mignolet will be desperate to make an early statement, and the one who doesn't will immediately find himself behind the eight ball.

All told, it's a move that should end up paying off for Rodgers. It doesn't come without risk, but Reina did go through some dips in form last season and acquiring a high-upside player like Mignolet should add some fuel to his internal fire.

In the end, both keepers will probably get their fair share of playing time throughout the campaign. The battle for which one gets the start in key matches like those against Manchester United and Manchester City will be the true test.

Only time will tell, but the intrigue is already beginning to develop.