5 things Liverpool got wrong in 2017

#4 The failure to sign a top-class goalkeeper

Should Simon Mignolet really remain Liverpool's #1?

For all his failings, 2017 will end with Simon Mignolet still remaining Liverpool’s first choice goalkeeper. In fact, the summer of 2017 didn’t really see them even linked with a replacement for the Belgian. It was somewhat surprising given Jurgen Klopp appeared to be losing faith with him in late 2016, dropping him in favour of Loris Karius. 2017 saw him return to the starting line-up though, and to be fair to him he’s started the season decently.

September, for instance, saw him save a club-record 8th penalty in a 3-2 victory over Leicester City, and he’s started 15 of 17 Premier League games thus far. But is he really the right man for the job between Liverpool’s sticks? It’s hard to really make an argument that he’s a genuinely world-class goalkeeper – not like some of the others in the Premier League. Take a look at Liverpool’s closest rivals, for example.

Manchester United have David de Gea; Tottenham, Hugo Lloris; Chelsea, Thibaut Courtois; Arsenal, Petr Cech. The largely untested Ederson keeps goal for Manchester City, but thus far he’s proven to be a strong signing. And it’s not like potentially great keepers weren’t available in the summer – Liverpool’s city rivals Everton signed the highly-rated Jordan Pickford, for example, and Jack Butland remains at the far smaller Stoke City.

Alex Ferguson once famously stated that a great keeper is worth 15 points a season – and Liverpool not finding one and missing out on those points is a big mistake they made in 2017.