Earlier on this season, it seemed that Simon Mignolet had lost his Liverpool job for good.
The Belgian goalkeeper was relegated to the bench following the purchase of Loris Karius from Mainz 05, yet a 4-3 loss to Bournemouth and a 2-2 draw at home to West Ham saw the young German shot stopper relegated to the bench for league games, where he has stayed since.
However, that two month period was enough to show that Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp can certainly do without Mignolet, who has often been criticised by the media for his performances, and many fans calling for a better player to be bought to replace him.
That is why when French journalist Manu Lonjon took to Twitter to say the Reds had watched Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier recently, it didn’t really come as a surprise.
Ces dernières semaines, Stéphane Ruffier ( ASSE) a été supervisé par West Ham, Everton et Liverpool.. pic.twitter.com/uIjZ3PQwy9
— Manu (@ManuLonjon) March 1, 2017
The three-time capped France international, now 30, has always been regarded as one of the better players in his role in his country, yet being around at the same time as both Hugo Lloris and Steve Mandanda seriously hampered his prospects of continuous national team selection.
Now in the peak years of his career, the prospect of moving to a bigger club, having spent all of his career between Monaco and Saint-Etienne (and a brief year in Bayonne), could certainly entice the 30-year-old.
If there’s one thing Ruffier could bring to Liverpool, a trait lacking since the days of Pepe Reina, it’s consistency, with the Saint-Etienne goalkeeper holding the impressive streak of, up until this season, making 207 consecutive league appearances since his move from Monaco in 2011.
This, however, would mean the end of Simon Mignolet at Anfield, which we doubt many fans would be too unhappy about.
Let’s see where this goes.
