Should Liverpool Stick or Twist with Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet?
Simon Mignolet has had an up-and-down season under Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool in 2014/15, but should the Reds manager stick or twist with his current first-choice goalkeeper this summer?
Rodgers recently praised the 27-year-old, as relayed by James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, claiming:
"Simon’s always been an outstanding keeper but like all players he went through a difficult moment.
His response to that has been outstanding. He’s stayed very calm. He’s stuck to his game and analysed his game and I think you can see his performance level now is back up to the level that he would want and what we would want. He’s been outstanding.
"
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Despite this, Liverpool have struggled this term, looking set to fall short of the Premier League's coveted top four, and a summer of upheaval looks likely.
Will Mignolet be one of those players facing the exit this summer?
Simon Mignolet
It seems a bizarre prospect to be debating the long-term suitability of the front-runner for this season's Premier League Golden Glove award, with Mignolet leading the pack with 13 clean sheets, but the 27-year-old's struggles in the first half of the season do warrant the debate.
Mignolet was a player bereft of confidence and, seemingly, raw ability during Liverpool's run of poor form in 2014.
He had kept just four clean sheets in 15 league games before being dropped "indefinitely" by Rodgers, as reported by BBC Sport, with Brad Jones preferred for the Reds' 3-0 loss away to Manchester United in December.
But coming back into the starting lineup due to Jones' injury in Boxing Day's 1-0 win away to Burnley, Mignolet has now established himself as a fine goalkeeper worthy of the Liverpool No. 1 shirt.
With 13 clean sheets in 30 games, Mignolet boasts a rate of a shutout every 2.3 matches.
He has conceded a goal every 1.03 games on average, making 1.9 saves per goal and 1.83 saves per game.
His saves have been exceptional at times, as Rodgers noted: "He's a brilliant shot-stopper. He's shown in this last three months what a really good 'keeper he is."
Of goalkeepers to have made more than 10 Premier League appearances this season, only David Ospina (0.58), Fraser Forster (0.70), David De Gea (0.9), Thibaut Courtois (0.96) and Joe Hart (one) have conceded fewer goals per game on average.
Mignolet is in elite company, and his tally of clean sheets—the most important factor—dwarfs each of those players.
There do remain deficiencies in his game, of course, and this is something Rodgers has worked around in the second half of the season, aiding his improvement in form.
This comes, namely, in Mignolet's inability to distribute with accuracy.
In the first half of the season, the Belgian averaged a 77 percent distribution accuracy, with an average length of 36 metres.
However, these statistics flattered to deceive—adopting a shorter game, Mignolet regularly played his defenders into trouble with his poor choice of pass, with centre-backs Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren making a combined total of nine defensive errors before Mignolet was dropped at Old Trafford.
Since coming back into the side, Mignolet has averaged a 59 percent distribution accuracy, at an average length of 38 metres.
The game plan has changed. Mignolet now looks to clear the ball long more often than not, and his depreciation in accuracy stems from the regularity with which these passes find the stands or an opponent.
However, due to most of these being long-distance passes, he and his defenders are placed under much less immediate pressure—neither Skrtel nor Lovren has registered a defensive error since Mignolet's reintroduction.
This does remain a negative within his game, of course, and will likely continue given there have been no signs of improvement so far, so there is cause to suggest Mignolet could be replaced this summer.
But with whom?
The Replacement Candidates
If Rodgers is thinking of ditching Mignolet at the end of the season, he will, of course, require a replacement as Liverpool's first-choice goalkeeper—particularly with Jones set to depart on the expiry of his contract at the end of the season.
One name regularly linked with the club is Club Brugge stopper Mathew Ryan, as reported by Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph back in January.
Ryan has kept 10 clean sheets in 30 Jupiler League games so far this season, at a rate of one every three games, with Brugge topping the table at four points clear of second-placed Anderlecht.
The 23-year-old is a sprightly, athletic goalkeeper, who has established himself as No. 1 for both Brugge and the Australian national team, with his main attributes being his ability to intercept play by charging from his line and a fine reflex action.
However, at just over 6' tall, there remain reservations over whether Ryan could dominate a penalty area in the Premier League.
He, as a relatively inexperienced option, is better suited to a competitive No. 2 role at present.
The other regularly linked name this season is Fiorentina's Neto, as David Prentice of the Liverpool Echo suggested, with word from the goalkeeper's agent, at the beginning of April.
Neto has kept nine clean sheets in 23 Serie A games this term, at a rate of one every 2.6 games, and has helped the Florence-based side to a Europa League semi-final.
However, once again, it can be debated as to whether Neto would be an upgrade on Mignolet, as Rory Smith of The Times attested in January:
Is the Brazilian really a step up from Mignolet?
One player who could be considered a genuine upgrade on Liverpool's No. 22 is Chelsea veteran Petr Cech, who was most recently linked to the club by Simon Jones for MailOnline.
Cech is a highly experienced Premier League goalkeeper who, at just 32 years old, could solidify Rodgers' goalkeeping position for the next three or four years; he is still worth one big contract at Anfield.
However, as Jones claims: "[Liverpool] want Cech but don't have the budget to compete with Paris Saint-Germain, who are confident of signing the experienced Chelsea goalkeeper this summer ahead of Arsenal."
This issue will likely be exacerbated by Liverpool's failure to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Rodgers is hardly in a position to challenge for a top-level goalkeeper so, with than in mind, should he stick or twist with Mignolet this summer?
Stick or Twist?
Considering the likes of Ryan and Neto are more suited to a competitive, back-up role alongside Mignolet at Liverpool, and given the relatively unattainable position of Cech this summer, Rodgers is in a precarious position.
In truth, none of those options are the ideal candidate. That would be Tottenham Hotspur's Hugo Lloris.
David Hytner of the Guardian reported last week of Lloris' interest in a move away from White Hart Lane this summer, writing: "Lloris will consider his future at the end of the season if and more likely when Tottenham Hotspur do not qualify for the Champions League."
This will have piqued the interest of myriad clubs, with Lloris one of world football's finest sweeper 'keepers and a standout performer in the Premier League since joining Spurs in 2012.
Although this season he has kept just six clean sheets in 30 league games, at a rate of one every five appearances, Lloris is a definite upgrade on Mignolet.
He is perhaps the closest player to resemble former Reds 'keeper Pepe Reina at his peak, and this is the type of player Rodgers requires for his high-intensity, attacking game to truly flourish.
"What we say to the outfield players is the same with goalkeeper—be dominant," the manager stressed. "I'd always rather have a goalkeeper come out and make a mistake than not come out. A 'keeper that just stands on the line, I don’t like."
However, once again, the sticking point for Lloris would be Champions League football, as Hytner continued: "It is not lost on Lloris that virtually all of his France team-mates play at Champions League clubs and he is the captain of his country."
Without Champions League football, how will Rodgers tempt a player of Lloris' calibre?
Until this is possible, Mignolet represents a solid, developing first-choice goalkeeper for Liverpool, and his sustained form in 2015 for the Reds points to a plateau reached by the 27-year-old.
What Mignolet perhaps needs, rather than a replacement, is a player of higher quality than the meagre Jones who can provide him with healthy competition and the incentive to maintain form.
Neto could fill this role, while Ryan would be a perfect signing as one who can develop further.
Mignolet's development under Rodgers this season has been remarkable, and the likely Premier League Golden Glove winner deserves at least another term as Liverpool's No. 1.
Statistics via WhoScored.com and Squawka.com.
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