Loris Karius Wishes He Fought For Liverpool Chance

Loris Karius is still a Liverpool player. Let’s start with that, in case you, like me, were shocked to realize that is still the case. Karius is a Liverpool player, and he has one year left on his Liverpool contract.

Karius left on various loans in 2018 after his unfortunate performance in Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid. The move was likely best for the player and club at the time. Karius got more playing time and Liverpool got Alisson Becker in his place.

After a disastrous two year long loan to Beşiktaş that ended with Karius taking legal action over unpaid wages, the player broke his contract with the club in early May 2020, Karius spent this season out on loan to Union Berlin, who finished seventh in the Bundesliga last season. He made only five appearances for the German side.

Now, with the 28-year-old goalkeeper returning to Merseyside for preseason, he talked about regretting his decision not to fight for his place with Liverpool.

“Of course, when I moved (to Union), I was told that I would play, otherwise I wouldn’t have come either,” he said. “We looked each other in the eye at the end of the season and shook hands. Everyone told me that I was incredibly important to the team and that they were sorry how it went. But when you look at it all, it was certainly not exactly fair. Simply because of what was shown to me in advance.

“As of now, I’ll be at Liverpool on July 12th. There is still a lot going on at the moment. Because of the European championship and corona, the transfer market will pick up rather late. I’ll keep everything open and will make the right decision for myself.”

He continued: “I want to prove something to myself and the people. I am extremely hungry and motivated. You should never exclude anything. Last year I was gone and I would have been in the Liverpool goal two weeks later due to injuries in the goalkeeping position.”

Karius is referencing the shoulder injury Alisson suffered from in early October 2020 which kept him off the pitch and on the injury table for weeks. In his place, Klopp chose Adrian and Caoimhin Kelleher to take over his duties. Would things have worked out differently for Liverpool with Karius between the sticks instead of those games? It’s impossible to say, but we’d love to hear your thoughts on that scenario.

Karius’ time with the club has clearly passed. What’s left to discover now is if he will go out on loan again or find himself a permanent deal by the end of the summer.