Former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger could be on his way back to the Premier League – some 15 years after his last game in England’s top flight.
The Austrian’s last Premier League game took place so long ago that the ground at which it took place – The Dell in Southampton – hasn’t existed for more than a decade.
But, according to Tony Barrett of The Times, the 39-year-old is training with Liverpool with a view to joining as backup to Simon Mignolet and new signing Loris Karius.
Former Arsenal keeper Alex Manninger is training with Liverpool with a view to becoming 3rd choice behind Karius and Mignolet.
— Tony Barrett (@TonyBarrett) July 11, 2016
Back in his Arsenal days, Manninger was number two to David Seaman, playing just 30 Premier League games across four seasons but featuring semi-regularly in cup competitions.
To put things in context, when he moved to Highbury (yup, he’s very much a pre-Emirates player), current Liverpool number one Karius had just celebrated his fourth birthday.
After joining in the same summer as Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars and Christopher Wreh, Manninger went on to enjoy spells with Fiorentina, Espanyol, Torino, Bologna, Brescia, Siena and Juventus, before spending the last four years in Germany with Augsburg.
Over the last three seasons he has kept one clean sheet in 24 Bundesliga appearances.
Liverpool are looking for a new third-choice goalkeeper with Welsh international Danny Ward set to join Huddersfield on loan for the 2016/17 season.
