Report: Patrick Vieira Wants to Sign Liverpool's Simon Mignolet for Nice

Rob Blanchette @@_Rob_BFeatured ColumnistNovember 9, 2018

Liverpool's Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet warms up before the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Stoke City at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on April 28, 2018. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet reportedly could be set to depart Anfield in January, with Nice manager Patrick Vieira preparing an offer for the Belgium international.

Mignolet's career on Merseyside has depreciated in recent years, and the stopper could be shown the door in the weeks ahead.

Alisson Becker is established at the Reds first-choice No. 1, and Mignolet needs a fresh challenge at a new club.

Belgian newspaper Het Belong van Limburg (h/t Adam Skinner of the Daily Express) reported Vieira is in the market for a new goalkeeper and could offer Mignolet the chance to play first-team football in Ligue 1. Current Nice stoppers Yoan Cardinale and Walter Benitez have reportedly not met Vieira's expectations since the former Arsenal legend took over the reins in June.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Simon Mignolet of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Watford at Anfield on March 17, 2018 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Mignolet's reputation slowly collapsed after arriving from Sunderland in 2013, and the player never reached the heights expected of him at Liverpool.

Manager Jurgen Klopp kept faith with Mignolet and fellow stopper Loris Karius until the end of last season but then broke the bank to capture Allison from Roma.

Liverpool paid £67 million for the Brazil international, and Mignolet has been left on the bench in a reserve capacity.

Mignolet would be perfectly suited for French football, and the player has remained in Belgium's squad despite a tough time in the Premier League.

The 30-year-old was present in the Red Devils squad for his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, will Belgium finishing the competition in third.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - OCTOBER 16: Dedryck Boyata, Simon Mignolet and Eden Hazard pictured during the International Friendly match between Belgium and The Netherlands on October 16, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Vincent Van Doornick/Isosport/MB Media/

MB Media/Getty Images

Per Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure (h/t ESPN FC's Glenn Price), Mignolet was in discussions to join Napoli last summer, but the parties failed to reach an agreement.

The Belgian remains a solid shot stopper, but his decision-making has let him down at vital moments during his spell at Anfield.

Liverpool fans have never quite trusted his overall judgement, and most were pleased when Klopp recognised the club needed fresh blood between the sticks.

Vieira is a young, progressive manager, and with Nice in mid-table, Mignolet could become a major building block of the coach's fresh approach in the south-east of France.