Life as a second-choice goalkeeper can be a lonely existence.



You train all week knowing that, come match-day, there’s precious little chance you’ll be involved.



Having gone 18 months without gracing the Premier League, Simon Mignolet recently decided enough was enough. At the age of 31, he needed to kick-start his flagging career.



Some are happy to simply pick up their wages each week but Mignolet craved the buzz of being in the heat of battle. The Belgium international returned to his homeland to sign for Club Brugge on the eve of the new campaign rather than spend another season playing second fiddle to Alisson Becker.



Liverpool were prepared for Mignolet’s possible exit and drew up a shortlist of potential replacements towards the end of last season. Pepe Reina, who made an appearance at the club’s post-Champions League final party in Madrid, made it clear he would relish a return to Merseyside but Anfield officials looked...