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This article is part of Football FanCast's Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news...

According to ESPN, Liverpool do not intend to sell Simon Mignolet to Crystal Palace for £8m this summer.

What's the word?

Liverpool signed Mignolet for £9m from Sunderland in 2013 but in recent years he's found himself subjected to the substitutes' bench.

First it was Loris Karius who took away his spot in the team, before the hugely expensive Alisson bumped him further down the pecking order.

However, the Belgian keeper is now attracting interest from another Premier League club.

The Evening Standard reported that Crystal Palace were eyeing an £8m bid for the stopper but ESPN have since quashed those reports by suggesting that Liverpool will not do a deal.

The report claims that the Reds expect him to stay at Anfield ahead of next season.

Stance must be changed

After being restricted to just two first-team opportunities last season it's safe to say that Mignolet is somewhat of an outcast on Merseyside.

The 31-year-old made a solitary appearance in both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup but he wasn't afforded any game time beyond those chances.

With that in mind, should Liverpool not cash in on the player? Certainly if a club are willing to offer £8m for his services then they should consider selling.

It's clear that he isn't required and by forcing him out the door, they could give invaluable experience to a rising goalkeeper.

Irishman Caoimhin Kelleher is highly rated by Jurgen Klopp and surely there is now no better time to give him a greater role in the first team.

Kelleher played a part during Liverpool's pre-season in 2018 and his performance against Napoli last summer earned him huge praise from his manager.

He said: "He is an outstanding talent. Outstanding. Very cool with the ball, you saw that in pre-season when he played in front of 100,000 people, that he wasn't bothered about that which is a very important skill to have."

It was quite the statement from the German but the 20-year-old goalkeeper hasn't really been seen too much since.

You can relive Liverpool's Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below...

Therefore, selling Mignolet seems like a sensible thing to do.

It doesn't appear as though Kelleher is overawed by the occasion and that could prove pivotal in the odd cup game Alisson is rested for.

With the Irish youth international waiting in the wings, Liverpool should definitely be looking to change their stance.