Simon Mignolet could not hide his delight with the signing of Belgian international Christian Benteke.
The arrival of one most of the most clinical strikers in the Premier League was confirmed yesterday and with that, Liverpool now have three Belgian players in their roster – Mignolet and Divock Origi completing the trio.
It also meant that the Liverpool goalkeeper did not have to face Benteke competitively anymore, with his record of five goals in his last six appearances against Liverpool being a very good return indeed.
The shot-stopper told Liverpoolfc.com:
“I’m very pleased that he’s signed. We all know that he’s a very good player and it’s another Belgian joining LFC.”
Mignolet then goes on to say:
“I’m very happy. The Belgian connection is there now and it will be nice for the people in Belgium to follow LFC.
“They’ve done that before but it will only make it better and I’m sure there’ll be a lot of Belgian fans coming to Anfield next season. I’m looking forward to that.”
The Liverpool ‘keeper also spoke of his joy of not having to face Benteke anymore competitively:
“We had some good duels against each other with Aston Villa. I won’t be challenging him anymore, like I did last season, so that’s nice!”
Mignolet then went onto to speak about what the new arrival will bring to the team:
“He will work hard in training. He’s got the physical presence, the ability to hold the ball up front and play with his back to goal.
“He will make sure that all the other players we’ve got connect with him, and when he keeps that ball make sure that we can be dangerous on the counter-attack.”
The 27-year-old also had his say on Liverpool’s business in the transfer window so far:
“We’ve done a lot of business already before the season starts, and everybody knows each other from the tour and pre-season.
“That’s only for the better. We’ve got loads of players to pick from and that will be good for the competition throughout the squad. You need that throughout the season.
“The season is very long and with a few injuries and suspensions, there will always be other players needed to play. When you have a broad squad it’s always positive.”
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