I’d absolutely love to be proved wrong on Loris Karius…
So far, the German has not impressed me, even though he’s had relatively few opportunities to do so since arriving from Mainz in the summer of 2016.
What I’ve seen is a poor shot-stopper, who lacks confidence and rarely comes off his line and deals with situations, despite being sold to us as a ‘sweeper keeper’ with footballing ability upon arrival.
Jurgen Klopp has more faith and has named the 24-year-old our no.1 for the foreseeable, demoting Simon Mignolet to a role on the bench.
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Karius reckons he’s up to the job and reckons a good end to the season will convince the club not to buy a new no.1 in the summer.
The Times claim Liverpool will look to purchase an elite ‘keeper in 2018, with Jan Oblak and Alisson two names in contention, but Karius wants the role to himself ‘for years to come’.
“Now you are back in goal you have to prove yourself and show how good you are to stay No 1 in the long-term, not just for the moment, to prove maybe I’m the long term No 1 that can be in goal here for Liverpool for years to come,” Karius told Liverpoolfc.com, cited in the Echo.
“But that’s far ahead. Right now I just want to help the team in the remaining four months of the season to reach our goals and do well.
“I’ve been using the Champions League to get game time and prove myself. That was very good for me. There were not that many games but it’s the highest level you can play on.
“I had a few league games now and then but of course now it’s going to be different playing every week. It’s nice, it’s great to hear.
“There is always pressure. You can turn it any way you want.
“You can say if you are the challenger that you need to be doing very well every time you come in or you can’t have a bad game as a No.1. That’s just our job and the pressure comes with it. I don’t really see it as pressure.”
Essentially, Karius has a six month trial to show Klopp and Liverpool supporters that he’s of elite potential.
At the moment, we’d suggest he’s not even in the top half of Premier League goalkeepers, but our rivals field the likes of David de Gea, Thibaut Courtois, Hugo Lloris and Ederson.
It’s an area of blatant weakness, but right now, Klopp’s in a win/win situation. Either Karius proved he’s good enough, or he breaks the bank in the summer for someone that is. By 2018/19, we’ll have a proper stopper between the posts, one way or another!