Liverpool goalkeeper coach John Achterberg has defended former goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, insisting he’s still good enough to play in the Premier League.
Mignolet is currently plying his trade in his homeland with Club Brugge, having elected to join them from Liverpool in 2019.
Before then, he had been a regular in the Premier League for nearly a decade, first joining Sunderland from Sint-Truiden in 2010 and then moving to Liverpool in 2013.
The Reds had hoped the Belgian would be their number one for a number of years, but he struggled to establish himself at Anfield, with a series of shaky performances seeing him replaced by Loris Karius and then Alisson.
He ultimately departed Merseyside with a record of 66 clean sheets and 239 goals conceded in 204 games, numbers that don’t compare badly until Alisson’s record of 68 clean sheets and 120 goals conceded in 147 games is added into the mix.
Since his departure, Mignolet has been a regular for Brugge and impressed but finds himself under increasing criticism this season as shaky performances have worked their way back into his game.
Achterberg is having none of that, though, and believes the former Reds number one is better than he is given credit for.
“Simon is just a very good goalkeeper,” he told Het Laatste Nieuws.
“But at Liverpool, they expected everything to be perfect. Today I still see much inferior goalkeepers than Simon in the Premier League, where he certainly could and can play.
“Because of that negativity, nobody came to him, even though he wanted to play every week.
“Not one day did I ever think that Simon was not doing his job. He is so professional that he knows how to leave it behind.
“How do you do that? Keep working and go back to basics. Doing things as simply as possible. With full concentration, without taking many risks. Trying to get back into your good graces.”
