John Achterbeg gets some stick from Liverpool fans, mainly because of the performance of our goalkeepers since he’s been at the club – but Jurgen Klopp rates him highly and we’ve no reason to doubt the manager…
And according to the Dutchman, our new signing Loris Karius has been watched by the club for the past two years – before Klopp even arrived on Merseyside – along with every other young stopper in the world!
“Loris a good young keeper who will come in to compete and show what he’s about,” Achterberg told the ECHO.
“He had an excellent season in Germany. I’ve watched him closely since 2014.
“I try to follow every keeper aged 15 to 27 in every league across Europe and the rest of the world.
“Every club needs competition for places as that brings out the best in players. It’s normal in football for players to be fighting for places.
“As well as Simon and Loris, there’s Danny Ward, who was excellent for Wales in their opening game of the Euros.
“We’ve also got some talented young keepers coming through so it’s good times.”
Karius is going to be with Germany at the Olympics for the beginning of the campaign, so at the moment, it looks like the no.1 spot will be Mignolet’s to lose…
You can be assured though if the Belgian costs us early points he’ll be out and the young German will get a chance to stake his claim.
With Mignolet and Karius, it’ll be tricky for Ward to even make match-day squads; and a short loan loan deal to a Championship club may be most beneficial.