SUNDERLAND will offer Simon Mignolet a new contract after the Belgian refuted claims from his own agent that he may be faced to move elsewhere.
Mignolet last night took the unusual action of talking to his own club’s official website to knock down his representative’s suggestion.
Guy Vandersmissen said yesterday: “Our ambition is for Simon to play somewhere he can engage in competition with Thibaut Courtois for the place in goal for Belgium. Courtois is fortunate he is playing for a team that has been doing well lately.”
The 24-year-old was quick to put the record straight.
“I felt I wanted to communicate with the club’s fans following the media reaction to comments made by my representative, which I feel were taken out of context and not a true reflection,” he said.
“Of course, my ambition is to regain the No 1 spot with my national team, but I feel I can do that with Sunderland. I was playing as Belgium’s No.1 a year ago, and hopefully that can be the case in the future.
“I am happy at Sunderland – a club I am proud to represent. I will continue focusing on my football, starting with Saturday’s game against Fulham.”
Mignolet has probably been Sunderland’s best player this season – centre-forward Steven Fletcher is his only credible rival – but remains one of their lowest-paid senior players, still on the wages agreed after his £2m move from local club Sint-Truiden in 2010.
When he arrived on Wearside it was to back up Craig Gordon. But Mignolet was able to oust the injury-prone Scot and fight off competition from Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Keiren Westwood, who joined in the summer of 2011.
Mignolet has not missed a Premier League game since being rushed back from a badly-fractured nose and eye socket when Westwood fell ill ahead of the 2012 New Year’s Day game against Manchester City. The only matches Martin O’Neill – who has on more than one occasion made favourable comparisons with his former team-mate Peter Shilton – has left Mignolet out of have been League Cup games, to give Westwood much-needed match-practice.
