Simon Mignolet is faced with difficult choices during this transfer window. Will he stay at the Bruges club for a seventh season?
At 37, Simon Mignolet must decide the orientation he will give to his end of career. As we were talking about this morning, the goalkeeper of the Bruges club is in the viewfinder of FC Copenhagen. He only has a year of contract in Northern Venice, making the situation still a little more indecisive.
For the first time since his arrival at the Bruges club, he is not assured of his place as a holder at the start of the season. Nicky Hayen has not yet been formally chosen between him and Nordin Jackers, who has just extended and is increasingly part of a holder in the making. This can be a factor, but it will not be decisive. Two other elements come into play.
It was already six years ago that Mignolet left Liverpool for the club: not only to have more playing time, but also because he wanted to return to Belgium. With his Jasmian wife and his sons Lex and wine, he was able to settle in Knokke and find a good balance between football and private life. The question is therefore whether the goalkeeper and his entourage are ready for a last challenge abroad.
Until the end of his contract before a last freelance?
Where will the former competitor of Thibaut Courtois know an environment where he is so appreciated? Despite the growing competition from Jackers, Mignolet is listened to and appreciated at its fair value at the Bruges club, while continuing to play meetings at the highest level in Europe.
Another parameter to be taken into account, the Limburgeois registered to start a training set up by the Belgian Football Federation, the Pro League and the University of Antwerp to become a sports director from September. One more brake for foreigners? Another part of the answer could be in Saint-Trond.
Simon Mignolet was formed there from his 14th birthday and made his professional debut there. Return to the Stayn would be a great way to complete the loop for the regional stage, appointed honorary citizen of the city of Saint-Trond This summer. He spoke several times the idea of playing the last games of his career there, without it sounding as an obligation. But the perspective has certainly crossed the mind to take stock of the different possibilities.
