Ethan Horvath has served as Club Brugge’s backup goalkeeper following Simon Mignolet’s arrival at the club, but the American is set to jump back into the starting lineup this week.
Mignolet played in Brugge’s 1-1 league draw on Saturday against Standard Liege, but admitted Sunday on social media that he has tested positive for COVID-19. The Belgian veteran could miss out on Brugge’s UEFA Champions League group stage opener at Zenit St. Petersburg this week, should the match go on despite Mignolet’s positive test.
Horvath played in two league matches last season, keeping one clean sheet in his time in net.
The 25-year-old served as Brugge’s starter in 2018-19, featuring in several competitions including the Champions League. Horvath totaled 34 appearances for Brugge that season, keeping a trio of clean sheets against Monaco, Atletico Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund among them.
However, since Mignolet’s arrival, Horvath has been reduced to No. 2 on the club’s depth chart. With Mignolet set to miss up to two weeks due to quarantine, Horvath could be in goal for the next three matches for Brugge.
Brugge travels to Zenit on Tuesday before visiting OH Leuven in First Division play. The club will also host Lazio on Matchday 2 of the UCL on Oct. 28th ahead of a league date with KV Mechelen on Halloween.
Horvath has won four caps with the U.S. Men’s National Team to date, but last played in a 1-1 friendly draw with Chile in March 2019.
I wonder if Mignolet’s contract specifies that if fit he must start? It seems he won the starting job without putting his gloves on.
He was a EPL regular starting keeper at a big club for six or seven years and has represented Belgium quite a few times. Why in Earth would he need a rider in his contract that he has to start?