Jack Hallows gives his opinion on Loris Karius, Alisson Becker and why the club were right to make the decision that they ultimately did.
I just want to start by saying regardless of your opinion on Loris Karius the footballer, you have got to genuinely feel sorry for Loris Karius the human being.
The 25-year old stopper has had a truly hellish few months since the Champions League final back in May and some of the reaction from fans of both Liverpool and rival clubs has been truthfully disgusting.
He was of course heavily criticised for the pair of errors that led to goals during the match itself, while the club’s decision to release the information that he was left concussed by an earlier collision with Sergio Ramos surprisingly only served to make things worse.
Things haven’t improved since and despite previous assertions in the media that Karius and Ward would battle it out for the number one jersey, the club chose to look for a new first-choice altogether.
Another error from Karius against Tranmere Rovers is widely regarded as the straw that broke the camels back and Alisson Becker was recruited not long after for a world-record fee of £65m.
Danny Ward has since left for Leicester in a £12m deal and it’s expected that Simon Mignolet will follow the Welshman out the door – the Belgian’s agent confirming interest from numerous clubs in recent days.
One question that needs answering at present though, is what about Karius?
The German has openly admitted that he may be forced to consider his Liverpool future after the purchase of Alisson Becker and speaking after the club’s 3-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in Charlotte he told reporters: “Of course that’s not perfect for me, but I cannot say much more about that either. I do not know (whether he will leave before the window closes).
“I cannot say what I’m doing right now, there’s still some time left.”
While Karius’ comments do not confirm that he is actively seeking a way out, they are not the comments of a goalkeeper who is settled or confident in his ability to fight off competition for his place in the starting XI.
Realistically, how could he be?
A disgustingly large number of football fans around the globe have spent the last three months slandering the poor man in every way they can on his social media profiles, while the wider football media have highlighted his mistakes over and over again, using them as a stick to beat him and the club with.
Alongside all of that, the manager who has publicly backed him since the final has essentially just replaced him with a keeper who were led to believe is far superior.
When you put football aside for a moment and look at it that way, it becomes a lot easier to empathise with Karius and I truly do feel for him.
To be completely fair to Jürgen Klopp however, what else is he going to do when asked on the situation during press conferences? Openly slander his goalkeeper? Of course not, he’s not that kind of manager.
Klopp understands that there is more to life than football and that his duty of care to every single one of his players comes first. That said, he’s not blind and he’s not stupid.
The boss also understands that he’s at Liverpool Football Club to win trophies and to do so, every player in his squad has to be of the required ability and perhaps even more importantly, state of mind.
If Karius was being affected by jeers and taunts during a pre-season friendly at Tranmere, imagine how he’d react being in-between the sticks at Old Trafford or Goodison Park?
Klopp knew he had to act and with Simon Mignolet proving time and again he is not the answer at this club and Danny Ward not really in the picture, buying a new keeper was his only other option.
As much as I feel for Loris Karius and appreciate that the situation he has found himself in is not ideal, there is a harsh truth that comes with playing for a club the size of Liverpool.
We are always going to be evolving and looking to move forward in an effort to not only compete with the other top sides in Europe but get ahead of them – especially under the guidance of a manager like Jürgen Klopp.
There is no room for ‘passengers’ or players who cannot provide the maximum benefit that they should be capable of and while Klopp is clearly an understanding, patient and caring man, he’s also got a job to do.
The manager has already been forced to publicly defend the purchase of Alisson, responding to Karius’ comments during the Reds’ tour of the States.
“If we had won the final and Alisson had been on the market we would have gone for him because we think he is the goalkeeper we want,” Klopp explained.
“The other goalkeepers are really good, like our midfielders.. Listen, I didn’t walk through the dressing room and tell people that I was signing Fabinho or Naby Keïta.”
These are the words of a man who gets it.
Like in any workplace, you can effectively play the part of both a boss and a friend to a certain degree but when mistakes are made and you’re placed in a tough situation, that’s when you have to make a decision.
Plenty of other managers in world football would have simply gotten rid of the German and likely, would’ve been forgiven for doing so.
Champions League mistakes aside, this is a goalkeeper who has failed to really make the number one jersey his own after two years at the club and his list of errors is in truth much bigger than just those that occurred in Kiev.
Klopp on the other hand feels that he still has a keeper of a decent level on his hands whose career he can still regenerate .
However, he’s also recognised that to do that, Karius needs to be removed from the spotlight. For his own sake just as much as the club’s.
While personally I believe he’d be a solid number two at Liverpool, if Karius doesn’t agree with that and wants to go elsewhere in search of more playing time then I don’t see why the club should stand in his way.
He’s only 25 after all and could still have another 10 years of a career ahead of him and to be harsh for a moment, I also truthfully don’t see any way that he becomes reinstated as Liverpool’s number one.
The boss has publicly done his part, continuing to defend his keeper and ignore what happened in the Champions League final as recently as the last week but the club have made their decision.
Now, it’s up to Karius to make his.
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