They say that you should never go back in football.
However, Liverpool have this week been linked with a player they got rid of three years ago. A player who would do best to maintain his Merseyside reputation by not returning to where he was once adored.
That player is Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who is the subject of Anfield transfer talk courtesy of the Daily Star and Corriere dello Sport.
Reina was a cult hero at times during his eight-year career with the Reds.
He was a penalty-saving expert whose specialist skill helped Liverpool win two cup-final shootouts.
However, he – like 2013 arrival Simon Mignolet – was also error-prone. And that is one of the reasons he was allowed to join Napoli, initially on loan, before completing a permanent move in 2014.
Reina is now 33. He’s not going to get any better.
Mignolet, on the other hand is just 28. He could improve, especially with a genuine rival, like summer signing Loris Karius, 22.
Karius and Mignolet are expected to battle it out for the role of Jurgen Klopp’s no.1 next season. Adding a elder club legend into that equation would not be healthy, or beneficial.
Let’s not forget that Mignolet was seen as the upgrade for Reina. It may not have turned out as well as hoped, but the antidote is certainly not to reverse the transfer.
That would simply be regression.
Follow @Andy MorrisBIC on Twitter.
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