Report: Vieira interested in signing Mignolet

An Arsenal legend could be ready to resurrect the career of Liverpool reserve goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

The Mirror  (via Het Belang van Limburg reports that Nice manager Patrick Vieira is not happy with his current goalkeeping options and is keen to bring the Belgian to the French club in January.

It was widely thought that Mignolet would leave the club at the end of last season, especially when it was clear that Loris Karius was Jurgen Klopp's preferred option between the sticks.

However that all changed when a catalogue of high profile errors from the German at the tail end of the last campaign, which ended up carrying over into the pre-season changed the mindset of Klopp in that regard.

Karius was packed off on a two-year loan spell to Besiktas and in came Alisson from Roma to take the number one mantle.

Mignolet who had been linked to a move to Barcelona was now in limbo as it meant that with Karius leaving, Liverpool were not going to let two goalkeepers leave in the same transfer window.

Knowing that wasn't in the managers’ plans but realising that his exit had been blocked for the immediate future, Mignolet committed the cardinal sin of a footballer by going to the press to air his frustrations.

He said at the time: “I find it bizarre that Karius was loaned while I also had options to be loaned. But for some reason that was not possible.

“The transfer of Karius doesn't change anything for me. I have always been clear: I want to play.

"Being number two or number three makes little difference. Playing minutes is the most important thing.

"Nobody has said anything to me after the departure of Loris. So I don't know what my future at Liverpool is.” 

Understandably, Klopp was unhappy with one of his squad speaking to the newspaper without coming to him with his thoughts first.

While completely understanding Mignolet's frustrations about his current plight, in response Klopp offered this classic response. 

'”There are worse things in the world that being No 2 - and you are pretty well paid at Liverpool.”

The Belgian has largely been a spectator throughout this campaign with his lone start coming in the third round of the Carabao Cup against Chelsea, which ended in a 2-1 defeat.

Klopp is certainly no fan of the mid-season transfer window.

The German very rarely does any business during the month with the main exception being this past January with Virgil Van Dijk coming in and Philippe Coutinho heading to Barcelona.

If Mignolet does depart, then it will be interesting to see if Klopp looks to replace him with a proven backup, or have faith from within the squad with youngsters Caoimhin Kelleher and Kamil Grabara.

It will certainly be worth keeping an eye on to see how this plays out in the next few months.