‘Liverpool could be an option’ – FC Twente keeper Nikolay Mihaylov refusing to rule out Anfield return & would consider Premier League move

Nikolay Mihaylov after stopping a penalty against Tottenham

Related Links

Teams

Players

EXCLUSIVE
by Guus Hetterscheid

FC Twente keeper Nikolay Mihaylov has admitted that he would consider a return to Liverpool, or another Premier League club, despite a disappointing tenure at Anfield.

The Bulgarian joined Twente from Liverpool in the summer of 2007 and has since developed into a key player at the reigning Dutch champions. His good performances have not gone unnoticed elsewhere, and Mihaylov has already caught the attention clubs from bigger leagues.

“That is the most important thing for me playing regularly,” Mihaylov told Goal.com. “I could have stayed at Liverpool, but I would only have been third-choice goalkeeper there. I am first-choice here and have even played in the Champions League.”

He added: “There is some interest from bigger leagues, but I feel very well at Twente. I have a contract that runs two more years and I do not want to leave the club. Michel Preud’homme has a lot of faith in me and I am happy at Twente.

And Mihaylov admits the he would be open to a move to Germany or England, conceding that he does not think the Spanish league suits him.

“Obviously every young player wants to make steps forward,” he continued. “I think that I would fit in pretty well in the Bundesliga or Premier League. Spain is nice as well, but they play a different kind of football there. They play very attacking football in England.

“Germany is a very competitive league and the stadiums are always packed. The fans are very passionate and I like that. A return to Liverpool could be an option, but they still have Pepe Reina, meaning that I would again warm the bench.”

Closer to home, a draw in Sunday’s Eredivisie title decider against Ajax will be enough for Twente to clinch their second consecutive league title. However, unlike last year, Mihaylov has been a key figure at the Tukkers this season and the Bulgaria international is eagerly anticipating the title celebrations.

“It is not like I was walking around with a sad face at last year’s celebration. You don’t really care whether you got a lot of playing time as it is a party for everybody within the club. Obviously, it will feel completely different if we win the title again this year. I really feel like I played a big role in this year’s success,” Mihaylov added.

New head coach Michel Preud’homme opted to give Mihaylov the nod ahead of last year’s first choice Sander Boschker, and he continued: “That was largely because Boschker returned to the club pretty late after the 2010 World Cup. I knew that I would get my chance as Twente are always looking toward the future. Sander is already 40 and I am only 22.

“I really made the best of it as I kept a number of clean sheets and won the Johan Cruyff shield. Things continued to go pretty well from there on.”

“I would fit in pretty well in the Bundesliga or in the Premier League. I love the passionate fans.“ – Nikolay Mihaylov

Mihaylov joined Twente from Liverpool in the summer of 2007 and has since developed into a key player at the reigning Dutch champions. His good performances have not gone unnoticed elsewhere, and Mihaylov has already caught the attention clubs from bigger leagues.

He added: “There is some interest from bigger leagues, but I feel very well at Twente. I have a contract that runs two more years and I do not want to leave the club. Preud’homme has a lot of faith in me and I am happy at Twente.

“That is the most important thing for me. I could have stayed at Liverpool, but I would only have been third-choice goalkeeper there. I am first-choice here and have even played in the Champions League.”

The Bulgaria international would be open to a move to Germany or England as he doesn’t think the Spanish league suits him.

“Obviously every young player wants to make steps forward. I think that I would fit in pretty well in the Bundesliga or Premier League. Spain is nice as well, but they play a different kind of football there. They play very attacking football in England.

“Germany is a very competitive league and the stadiums are always packed. The fans are very passionate and I like that. A return to Liverpool could be an option, but they still have Pepe Reina, meaning that I would again warm the bench.”.

I could return | Mihaylov refuses to rule out Liverpool move

The days ahead are all about the away match against Ajax for Mihaylov and his team-mates, and the goalkeeper has made it clear that Twente won’t be playing for a draw in the Amsterdam ArenA.

“We have to go out and go for the win. You never know what can happen if start the game to play for a draw,” Mihaylov says.

“Ajax might not be in superb form, but they have the advantage of playing at home. The Ajax fans have not been able to celebrate a league title since 2004 and they will support Ajax with all their heart.

“The match can go either way, but I think that we have a good chance to win the title. We are very strong as a team. Ajax perhaps have better individual players with Miralem Sulejmani and Siem de Jong. They can make the difference. We really have to watch out for Sulejmani. He’s fast and has a great technique. Our defenders face a difficult task and we have to be fully focused.”

The young goalkeeper also explained that the current Twente squad is not too different from the team that won the Eredivisie last year.

“We lost players like Blaise N’Kufo and Kenneth Perez, but we got plenty of quality in return. Theo Janssen is very important for us and and Luuk de Jong has developed a lot.

“Additionally, players like Roberto Rosales, Wout Brama, Denny Landzaat, Nacer Chadli and myself have all proven their worth.”