Why Liverpool jumping to the head of the Valdes queue is wrong
Published:It’s been common knowledge that Victor Valdes is leaving Barcelona when his contract with the Catalan club runs out this summer.
The club whose net he’ll mind next, though, hasn’t been quite as clear. Until now, that is.
Liverpool are thought to have jumped to the head of the queue to land the Spaniard, leapfrogging French Ligue 1 pair Monaco and Paris St-Germain in the process.
However, the news is more of a worry for Reds fans rather than a cause to celebrate as there are number of reasons why Liverpool should swerve signing the 32-year-old.
Firstly it’s widely thought that Brendan Rodgers prefers to operate with a younger goalkeeper between the sticks, hence the £10m outlay on Simon Mignolet this summer.
While the Belgian has been part of a defensive unit that’s been far from solid this season, ditching his philosophy on youthful stoppers after just one season when there’s room for improvement seems a strange Rodgers move.
Having invested so much money in the 25-year-old it is certainly worth persevering with him for at least another season, especially as the Merseyside club have made an unusual amount of defensive errors that have led to goals.
There’s an argument that should the Anfield side qualify for the Champions League, which they are 1/6 to achieve, then a keeper with a better heritage in the competition than Mignolet will be needed.
That’s where Valdes is supposed to come in, but then again, there’s always Pepe Reina available for that.
At 31, the on loan Napoli stopper is a year younger than Valdes and has a wealth of experience playing at the highest level.
He’s currently part of a defence that has conceded the third-least amount of goals in Serie A and, should Rodgers ditch Mignolet, is a ready-made replacement.
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