Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is playing down all the talk of current number one goalkeeper Pepe Reina moving to Barcelona as Liverpool fans await the announcement that Belgium international keeper Simon Mignolet will be joining the Reds from Sunderland.
Pepe Reina was rumored to be on his way to the Nou Camp after Barca keeper Victor Valdes refused to sign a new contract with only one year remaining.
For his part Valdes says that he plans to honor his contract with the club, meaning that they will not be desperately looking for his replacement just yet.
When speaking about the situation at Anfield Rodgers said: “One of the things we’re trying to build is a competitive squad,” Rodgers told the Daily Express.
“Our squad was very thin last year. It’s very important we have competition in every position and that wasn’t always the case.
“Pepe and I went out for a meal a couple of months before the end of the season and I told him exactly what we were going to do, which was to provide real competition in that area.
“Pepe is a fantastic goalkeeper but Simon Mignolet is a player that has done really well. He’s also part of an emerging Belgium squad that has come into a golden era.”
“Pepe is a very committed man and an outstanding goalkeeper.”
