10 Clean Sheets In 35 Games: Is Liverpool’s Pursuit Of Guillermo Ochoa Harsh On Mignolet?

Brendan Rodgers’ transfer policy has been less than satisfactory in the short spell that he has been the manager of the club. Apart from the two additions of Sturridge and Coutinho in the January of 2013, most of the other new additions have not been able to make a mark for the club. And that does not exclude goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

The Belgian goalkeeper has been a brilliant shot stopper, but has committed the silliest of blunders at times. He has never looked comfortable in dead ball situations and struggled to clear high flying corners. From his blunder against Manchester City in the first half of the campaign to his recent blip against Norwich, the Belgian has cost several nerve-wracking moments for the Reds fans. Apart from that Mignolet’s ball distribution is also poor, something which Pepe Reina mastered. All these have made it one big question in front of Rodgers, whether Mignolet should again be trusted solely next season or should another keeper be brought into the team?

Now it is quite confirmed that Reina is not going to come back to Liverpool at the end of the season. Rafa Benitez has struck a good chord with Reina and although the Spanish goal-keeper has not been in the greatest of forms, Benitez seems to be quite satisfied with him and Napoli should meet the buyout clause for Reina. So all in all, the cries to bring in another experienced keeper echoes across Anfield as next season promises to be more challenging now that Champions League participation has been confirmed.

One of the shortlisted keeper is Guillermo Ochoa who plays for French side Ajaccio. The 28 year old shot stopper has enough experience behind him to compliment the young Mignolet who is in his first season playing for a top club.

Guillermo Ochoa could join Liverpool at a very nominal fee and his agent has also confirmed some interest of the player joining the English side. If he joins the Merseyside club it can be a good move for Liverpool as they would have a seasoned player as a backup. But that can have harmful consequences on Mignolet who needs the trust of his manager and his team members to excel for the club.

A classic example of this can be David De Gea. The Manchester United keeper made a number of blunders at the start of his United career and was eventually dropped to the bench. But ultimately manager Alex Ferguson displayed confidence in him and made him a first team starter. And De Gea can be called as one of the best goalkeepers of the premier league at the moment.

Besides looking at Mignolet’s stats so far, it does look brilliant. The former Sunderland keeper has managed to keep 10 clean sheets from the 35 league appearances despite the leaky defence in-front of him adding to the 1.94 saves he makes per game.

Bringing in Guillermo Ochoa to Liverpool can have adverse effect on Mignolet and it was mainly because Rodgers did not want to put pressure on the Belgian that he chose to loan out Pepe Reina to Napoli. Getting a new player at the same position would be going back to square one and it is too early an action and after just one season. If Mignolet does not perform upto the expectations even after next season, then a new keeper can be brought in.

We will have to look forward the summer transfer market with interest.

 
Stats via squawka