It's been a while since I've put anything on here, to be honest not a lot has inspired me to write. The whole Luis Suarez saga is boring me and I'm not going to go into that until it reaches a conclusion one way or another. We've brought in four players but to be honest, Kolo Toure aside, I don't know much about any of them so I'll make my judgments on whether or not they're decent signings over the course of the season.
What does look likely though is that Pepe Reina is heading out to join up with Rafa Benitez at Napoli on a season long loan deal, which is something of a surprise. Players of Reina's age and standing within the game don't often move on loan but looking at it a little more closely I think it's a really good idea for all concerned.
A few months back Barcelona 'keeper Victor Valdes announced he wouldn't sign a new contract at the Camp Nou, Reina was immediately linked to being his replacement. I've been a Liverpool fan all my life and even I would love to play for Barca (unlikely to happen but I can dream......) so for someone like Pepe who already has ties to the club it must have been more than interesting. Some clubs can offer high wages (Man City), some can offer tradition and reputation (Liverpool) and some can offer Champions League football (Napoli) but Barca can offer all three, making them a dream destination for almost any player. Valdes later announced he will stay at Barca for the coming season, the final one under his current contract. Barcelona need a new 'keeper NEXT summer, not this one.
If Pepe is to join Barca next summer Liverpool don't want to wait until then to replace him so we've been out and signed one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Europe, and we've got him on approximately half the wages we're currently paying to Reina. It's a good deal, especially when you throw Simon Mignolet's Premier League experience into the mix. Reina has been loyal to Liverpool and the various managers of the last few seasons have always chosen him as their number one, and the fans have supported him even though there has been a small but noticeable drop in his performance levels over the last three years. If he wants to move to Barcelona he'll go with our thanks and our best wishes.
So why loan him to Napoli if he wants to go to Barca? Well, a season sitting on our bench will see his transfer value drop, and a year as a substitute leading up to a World Cup is not what a man like him deserves. Napoli will offer him regular football, Champions League football and the chance to work with a manager and goalkeeping coach who get the best out of him. They will also, presumably, pay Liverpool a loan fee. Assuming Reina's transfer value is the same next summer as it is now then adding a loan fee on top of that means in the long term we get more money for him (see Andy Carroll). If he does well under Rafa and they want to keep him there's a chance a bidding war for his services could start, leaving us in a position where we can get more money for him. And if Mignolet doesn't settle as Liverpool's number one 'keeper then we will still have the option of not selling Pepe at all.
It will be sad to start the season without Pepe Reina at the club, and losing him at the same time as Jamie Carragher puts a lot more pressure on the likes of Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger as senior players in the dressing room. We have a relatively inexperienced manager and a young squad by Premier League standards so losing long term servants could hit us hard, but Brendan Rodgers is aware of this and will have plans in place. Signings like Toure are clever and will hopefully fill more than just the void left at centre back by Carragher's retirement.
I don't want to see Pepe Reina leave Liverpool as a man or as a goalkeeper but it's football and these things happen. In many ways the whole thing makes a lot of sense, and as long as Mignolet settles it's a good move all round. Reina currently costs us around £5 million a year in wages and that's too much for a substitute. The loan deal has many advantages over a straightforward sale and I think Liverpool have made a clever decision. Good luck to Pepe and, more importantly, good luck to Simon Mignolet.
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