Transfer News: Simon Mignolet Joins Club Brugge as Liverpool Name Replacement

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has signed for Belgian top division side Club Brugge in a £7m deal after spending six seasons at Anfield. 

Jurgen Klopp was reluctant to sell Mignolet this summer, however, the 32-year-old desperately sought first-team action after losing his place to first Lorius Karius and now Alisson. 

Simon Mignolet was Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper for the first three seasons following his arrival from Sunderland for £9m. The Belgian went onto make over 200 appearances for the Reds in all competitions. 

Alisson’s big-money move from Roma last summer indicated that the Belgian’s time was up at Liverpool as he made only two cup appearances in the entirety of the season. However, Mignolet has a Champions League medal to his name as he was on the bench against Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid in June. 

Mignolet’s departure kept Liverpool fans wondering if Jurgen Klopp will promote youngster Caoimhin Kelleher as the understudy to Alisson. However, the club has acted quickly by bringing in former West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian on a free transfer. The Spaniard was without a club after his contract with the Hammers expired in June. 

Adrian played 150 games for West Ham before Lukasz Fabianski took over as first-choice. He expressed his excitement at joining the Champions League winners. 

“I’m feeling really happy; really happy to be here and to work in this great club and start doing my stuff on the pitch as soon as possible,” he told Liverpool’s official website. “I’m very ambitious, I come here to try to win everything, to try to push Ali from the first minute and to make us better.

“Obviously I want to win titles. I come here to fight for all the competitions. We have many competitions ahead – we’re going to fight for it and try to get them. I’m looking forward to playing my first game at Anfield and to win as many games as we can.”