Rumour Mongering: Benfica Target Simon Mignolet After Perin Deal Falls Through

Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Benfica need a new starting goalkeeper—and they need him in quickly.

With Benfica’s move for Juventus stopper Mattia Perin having broken down, the Portuguese club are in desperate need of a new number one goalkeeper, and they need to get a deal done fast with the 2019-20 season rapidly approaching.

So say A Bola today, claiming that the Lisbon-based club are scrambling to secure a new number one after Perin’s medical turned up potential shoulder troubles. As for who that new number one might be, well, enter Simon Mignolet.

Liverpool’s number two is said to be a strong second choice for Benfica, who are also considering Roma’s Robin Olsen, who disappointed as Alisson Becker’s replacement last season and has been offered up for sale by the Serie A side.

Whether Mignolet really is on the radar for Benfica, and despite A Bola’s quite horrendous track record as rumour mongers, they’re at least right that in this case that the club will need to move very quickly for a new starting goalkeeper.

Benfica are down to their final two pre-season friendlies, facing Fiorentina tomorrow and then Milan on Sunday before taking on Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese Super Cup on August 4th. They then kick off the season proper on the 11th.

If Mignolet—or Olsen for that matter—is the man for the job now that the Perin transfer appears to have fallen through, then, we should at least know in fairly short order.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com