Of the more surprising transfers this summer, Simon Mignolet leaving Liverpool was undoubtedly up there with them.
The Belgian found himself relegated to back-up goalkeeper at Anfield last summer as Alisson arrived in a record-breaking deal from Roma and impressed in his first season.
Mignolet wasn’t fighting too hard for a transfer and, more importantly, Liverpool wanted him to stay.
Yet, a move soon materialised as Club Brugge presented a deal that suited all parties and Mignolet returned to his native Belgium, with Adrian arriving as his replacement on Merseyside.
Mignolet has since made two appearances for his new club and kept a clean sheet in both. Game time is what Mignolet wanted when he departed Liverpool this summer, and he revealed his delight in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws.
“This is exactly what I wanted: play a lot. Let the games come. The training complex suits me very much, I am very satisfied,” he says.
“Whether it’s against KV Oostende or Manchester City, I have to just grab the balls, and the shots come as hard.
“The people tell me about Oostende or, say, Eupen, but I’m just preparing for the most difficult thing. I will always have to make a few interventions.”
And Mignolet insists that remains the case, even though had he stayed at Liverpool this summer, he would have found himself as first-choice in the opening two months.
That’s as a result of an injury to Alisson Becker, the Brazilian sustaining a calf injury midway through the 4-1 defeat of Norwich City on the opening day that will now see him miss up to eight weeks of action.
That leaves Adrian as the Reds interim number one, a position Mignolet would have been 
filling had he remained on Anfield. He has no regrets, though, insisting he wishes his former teammate a speedy recovery.
“I have not complained about this decision for a second,” he adds.
“His injury makes no difference at all. I knew this could happen. The few weeks in which I would play do not weigh up against the five years for which I have signed here. I wish Alisson to get better.”
