‘He knows he needs to improve with his feet and is working hard’Liverpool manager admits he wants another goalkeeper in January

Simon Mignolet’s problems at Liverpool stem not from his hands but his feet, according to manager Brendan Rodgers, who has confirmed he wants a new goalkeeper in the January transfer window.

The Liverpool goalkeeper lost his place to Brad Jones recently and only returned to the side after the Australian suffered a thigh injury against Burnley on Boxing Day. He has made an inauspicious return, struggling to control the ball at Turf Moor or to command his penalty area during Monday’s FA Cup win at AFC Wimbledon where, in fairness, he was in collision with 16-stone striker Adebayo Akinfenwa.

Mignolet has kept only four clean sheets in 25 appearances for Liverpool this season and is liable to be targeted when he faces former club Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. “If an opposition goalkeeper is struggling for confidence, then Sunderland should put him under pressure, whether he is a former favourite or not,” wrote former Sunderland player Gary Rowell in his local newspaper column.

Rowell added: “In Mignolet’s last season at Sunderland, he was outstanding and nobody did more to keep them up, making crucial saves that won his team points. He also started his Liverpool career well, so it’s difficult to work out why it’s gone wrong for him this campaign.”

Rodgers believes the answer lies in his goalkeeper’s footwork and concentration levels. He held several conversations with Mignolet, signed for £9m in 2013 as first choice over Pepe Reina, during the keeper’s “indefinite period” out of the side and admits the 26-year-old is still adjusting to the different demands of playing at Anfield.

“Simon was at the time we were watching him, and still is, a wonderful shot-stopper,” Rodgers said. “He makes big saves but the adaptation for him is coming into a big team where you are not having to make as many saves and therefore concentration is important and you probably have more touches of the ball with your feet than what he might have expected.

“He has come in here under massive expectation to replace a player who was outstanding for Liverpool for seven or eight years. He is trying to develop areas of his game. He knows he needs to improve with his feet and he is working hard on that on a daily basis. He is analysing the games and working with the coach and doing everything he can to be the best he can be.”

Mignolet made 101 appearances for Sunderland before joining Liverpool and Rodgers’ admission the club signed a player uncomfortable with his feet appears startling but he said: “Everyone can improve. If you bring in an outfield player or a goalkeeper they can always look to improve their touch or their ideas. It was a new way of working for Simon and for him it was about understanding how a big team and a big club plays, which is to dominate the ball. In my time of working with the players they understand that but it doesn’t always happen straight away, sometimes it can take that wee bit of time.”

Danny Ward, the Wales under-21 international, will be back-up for Mignolet at Sunderland and Rodgers admits a new keeper is required this month. “I think we need a goalkeeper of some sort, it’s just depending on how long Brad Jones is going to be out injured,” he said. “We are obviously down and have got two young inexperienced keepers behind Simon, who is only just back in the team, so we need to assess that.”