Loris Karius could do with some time to build his confidence back up and he’s going to get plenty of it.
As expected, Karius is set to join Besiktas on loan but the under-fire goalkeeper is going to spend longer in Turkey than first anticipated.
According to well-connected journalist Paul Joyce, Karius will spend two years on loan with Besiktas with the hope of reviving his career.
Loris Karius set to join Besiktas on two year loan
— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) August 20, 2018
An option to buy is said to have been included in the 25-year-old’s contract.
Besiktas reportedly had both Karius and Simon Mignolet on their radar as potential replacements for last season’s first-choice ‘keeper, Fabri, who moved to Fulham last month.
Karius lost his place as Liverpool’s No. 1 when Alisson Becker arrived from Roma for £66.8 million this summer but Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has rejected suggestions that Alisson was signed as a direct consequence of Karius’ several errors in recent months.
Speaking to German magazine Kicker, Klopp said: “I didn’t tell Loris what he wanted to hear, but that is how it is.
“The Champions League final had nothing to do with us getting Alisson. Even if he had won it and Alisson would have been on the market we would have still signed him.
“And how the people reacted negatively to Karius after the final, by trying to isolate him, that almost made me not sign Alisson and rather stick it out with Karius. But we had to be professional, our job is to have the best players in every position.
“Did the Champions League final mistake affect him badly? I don’t think so.
“There are worse things in the world, you should never forget that. We are talking about a luxury problem here. Who the No.1 is might be decisive for some. But it isn’t everything.”
