Simon Mignolet

[Arn]

Mignolet completes Liverpool switch

Liverpool Football Club are delighted to confirm the signing of Belgium international goalkeeper Simon Mignolet from Sunderland.



The deal with the Black Cats is now complete and the 25-year-old has penned a long-term contract after passing a medical at Melwood.

He becomes the first Belgian to represent the Reds - and has been welcomed to the club by manager Brendan Rodgers.

"I am delighted that we have been able to sign one of the top goalkeepers in the Barclays Premier League," said Rodgers.

"Simon will join a club that will give him an opportunity to demonstrate and improve his huge talent."

Mignolet is widely regarded as one of the best young stoppers in Europe and has 13 caps for his country.

He made 90 appearances during his time at the Stadium of Light after arriving from hometown club Sint-Truiden in 2010.

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/late...verpool-switch

[RichC]

Welcome Simon Mignolet

Welcome to the club!

The complete guide to Simon Mignolet

Want to know more about Liverpool signing Simon Mignolet? Read our handy guide to everything regarding our new Belgian goalkeeper – from social media to statistics to his career scrapbook.

Wiki says...

After a training ground tour, Mignolet signed a five-year contract at Sunderland on 17 June 2010. The deal was undisclosed but was widely reported to have cost Sunderland £2m. It was later confirmed that Sunderland had pipped PSV Eindhoven, FC Twente and Udinese to Mignolet's signature.

The social media...

The Belgian goalkeeper has an official, verified Twitter account - @SMignolet. At last count, Simon had only posted 113 times but had almost 40,000 followers
In his scrapbook...

13 international caps for Belgium; Belgian Second Division winner (2008-09).

The numbers game...

Mignolet has played 90 games in the Premier League during the past three seasons, keeping a total of 30 clean sheets in the process. In 2012-13 the 'keeper made an average of 6.16 saves per match, with 53 per cent of those caught. He has saved four out of 16 penalties including one from Luis Suarez. He also saved a huge penalty from Ba in a derby against Newcastle.

What they say...

"He comes in every morning and wants to do it, to work hard and improve. I've been lucky in my career to have played in front of two unbelievable 'keepers in Pat Jennings and Peter Shilton and he's got a similar approach to both. He's still very young and he's got a similar mentality to those two. If he ends up having half the career of those two I'll be ecstatic. He's an intelligent lad without being a smart Alec." (Martin O'Neill, former Sunderland manager)

Did you know?

Mignolet continued to study alongside his football commitments and achieved a degree in Social Science and Politics.

http://liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/the-complete-guide-to-simon-mignolet

[marcus50bucks]

[G]

Welcome Simon, bye Pepe.

[Shaggy]

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/simon-mignolet-in-profile

Simon Mignolet in profile

We review the career of new Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who completed a transfer from Sunderland to Anfield earlier today…

Belgian stopper Simon Mignolet bolstered Liverpool's goalkeeping ranks when he completed a switch from Barclays Premier League side Sunderland in June 2013.

Despite dreams of playing in an outfield position, the 25-year-old started his career with hometown club Sint-Truiden between the posts and progressed quickly through the youth levels.

In total Mignolet made 104 appearances for Sint-Truiden and contributed as the Belgian team achieved promotion to the top flight during the 2008-09 campaign by winning the second division title.

Remarkably, Simon actually scored a goal for the team during that season. In a match at Ronse in April 2009, the 'keeper stepped up to attempt a penalty kick and converted the rebound after his initial effort was blocked.

Growing in confidence and developing an imposing presence as the last line of defence, Mignolet played 39 league matches the following year to help Sint-Truiden finish fifth and enter the end-of-season play-offs.

Some of Europe's biggest clubs were beginning to circle around the promising stopper and it was Sunderland who were victorious in the race for the Belgian's signature; a fee of around £2million was agreed.

With Craig Gordon established as No.1 for the Black Cats, Mignolet was expected to begin life at the Stadium of Light on the bench. But an injury to the Scot provided his new teammate with an opportunity to impress.

Simon never looked back; his reflex shot-stopping, courage in one-on-one scenarios and command of the penalty area were highly appreciated and he rapidly cemented his first-choice spot on Wearside.

International recognition deservedly arrived for the Belgian during 2011 and he made his senior debut for the Red Devils in a Euro 2012 qualifying victory at Austria in March of that year.

He has now made 13 appearances for the national team - including a friendly against England in June 2012 - and is battling compatriot Thibaut Courtois for a potential starting berth at the World Cup next year.

Although Sunderland veered dangerously close to relegation at times, 2012-13 proved to be Mignolet's most consistent campaign since arriving on English shores.

The stopper was ever-present in the league, playing all 38 league fixtures, and kept an impressive 11 clean sheets - enough to earn joint-fifth in the Premier League shut-out rankings.

Mignolet's ability to prevent goals was evident in the number of saves he produced last season - 149. That number was second only to Jussi Jaaskelainen among all of the goalkeepers in the top flight.

Naturally, Simon began to attract interest from numerous clubs throughout England and further afield; Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool were reportedly included in those with a strong interest as summer speculation raged.

Rodgers formalised that interest in June 2013 and Mignolet completed his switch to Anfield after signing in at Melwood on June 25.

[RichC]

Good signing IMO but he's going to have to prove he's going to be better between the sticks than Pep, tough act to follow.

[Robbie-9-Fowler]

Bottom half of his face looks like Skrtel.

Good signing.

[danperkins]

Good signing.. interesting to see what happens afterwards now

[Shaggy]

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/simon-mignolet-the-first-interview

Simon Mignolet: The first interview

Simon Mignolet spoke of his excitement at the prospect of competing with Pepe Reina for a place in the Liverpool team after he became the first Belgian to sign for the club on Tuesday afternoon.

The 25-year-old enjoyed his first day at Melwood after putting his signature on a long-term contract - and sat down for an exclusive interview which LFCTV Online subscribers can now watch in full.

He outlined his ambition to win the respect of Liverpool fans and to keep many clean sheets in front of the Kop over the coming years.

But Mignolet is taking nothing for granted as he joins Reina and Brad Jones in our goalkeeping ranks.

"Competition can only be a good thing," said the 13-time Belgium international.

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"I've been in big competitions wherever I've been - in Belgium with the national team and in Sunderland with Craig Gordon and Keiren Westwood, who are international goalies. Now it's the same again with Pepe and with Brad.

"It's only a good thing - to be competitive and to train as hard as you can, it can only bring the best out of you.

"Pepe is an experienced goalkeeper who has proven a lot over the years. I'm looking forward to working with him, the same as I am with Brad and the goalie coach.

"It's a challenge but that's what you want. You want to play in the big games, you want to play for a big club and to play with pressure.

"I'm very confident in myself and I can't wait to get the first clean sheet under my belt.

"I've never been a nervous person. I'm quite confident in my own abilities."

Mignolet will now jet back to his homeland before reporting for training at Melwood at the start of July.

On being the first Belgian to sign for Liverpool, he added: "I've been told that and it's quite a surprise to me because you see how many Belgians are playing in the Premier League today.

"It's something to be proud of - the first Belgian to play for a big club such as Liverpool.

"It's a big club and when you arrive it's a big thing. I'm very pleased to be here and I'm looking forward to getting started. The first training [session] will be very early and I'll be happy to be there.

"I tried to keep this as quiet as I could because there are a lot of things that have to be finalised before you sign. I kept it quiet because I know my friends and family, they'd get excited. But they're happy and hopefully they can come over for a lot of the games. I think they will be proud."

Mignolet has had several discussions with Brendan Rodgers over recent days and is confident he can adapt to how his new manager likes to play football.

"Back in Belgium, the goalies always train to play with the ball at their feet," he said. "We join in most of the time, playing more with our feet than with our hands. I'm used to this.

"I've spoken to him [Rodgers] a few times already and I'm very pleased. He is very ambitious, like I am.

"Let's hope we can win a lot of games and finish as high up the table as we can."

Mignolet has played against Liverpool six times - three of which were at Anfield - during his three years in Sunderland and the Kop's tradition of applauding visiting goalkeepers made quite an impression.

"Even as an away goalkeeper they always applaud you when you run to the Kop," he said. "I know they appreciate their goalies and hopefully they will appreciate me as a home 'keeper. I really can't wait to play in front of them and win matches in front of them.

"I think it will be very special the first moment I step onto the pitch. The first couple of moments I'll be nervous but I'm sure the fans will get me over that. Hopefully we can keep a lot of clean sheets and get a lot of points - that's what I'm here for.

"I know they're very passionate about their club and I know they love and support their goalies, so hopefully they can be behind me and hopefully we can enjoy a lot of wins and trophies together."

[Chris]

Excellent deal. Think he'll be a cracking signing.

[Shaggy]

[cream]

Wow, that's 4 players before July.

Welcome Mig.

[Cormack74]

Welcome Simon, bye Pepe.

Was going to post exactly the same before I read yours

[little dave hedgehog]

mig 1, you are clear for landing.

*kshhht*

[Slinky Skills]

I'll tell you what, we're not ****ing around this year.

Welcome to LFC Mignolet!!