Liverpool are considering Sporting Lisbon shot-stopper Rui Patricio as a possible summer signing to provide competition for Simon Mignolet in goal.
Patricio has been a regular for both Sporting Lisbon and Portugal and is considered a good all round goalkeeper unlike Simon Mignolet who hasn’t been impressive with his distribution or decision making in set pieces, although the Belgian has improved in the last few months after an awful spell in the first half of the season which resulted in him being dropped.
Patricio is contracted with Sporting until 2018, so Liverpool will have to fork out somewhere around a 15m at a minimum. However, it’s an investment that the Merseysiders will have to make if they are to remain assured at the back, which wasn’t the case during December. With Mignolet in poor form, Liverpool turned to their second choice keeper Brad Jones. Jones kept for three games and conceded five goals. A hamstring injury meant that Liverpool had no choice but to go back to Mignolet as they did not have anyone else with first team experience left.
Jones is contracted with the club until 2016, but he could stay at the club even if they sign someone else in the summer. Patricio has kept 11 clean sheets in all competitions this season and also captains his side. As a result, you would think that he marshalls his back line effectively, hence the captaincy.
Liverpool have always had reliable goalkeepers, but they have failed to replace Pepe Reina effectively. Mignolet has had a decent spell at the club but still has a long way to go before he can emulate his predecessor who won three golden glove awards in a row starting from 2005-06 season ahead of the likes of Edwin Van Der Sar, Petr Cech and Jens Lehmann which cemented his name as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier league. However, the Spaniard left the club on a loan spell and joined Napoli as he felt Mignolet’s addition would hamper his game time at the club. Reina then moved permanently to Bayern Munich and has been the number two there ever since.
Patricio’s signature will definitely be a good move as the Portuguese is still only 27 and has a lot of time on his shoulders. His signature will also bring the best out of both himself and Mignolet as the duo aren’t being given enough competition at their current clubs.