Have contract until 2022 but unsure about my future at Liverpool, admits Loris Karius
Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius has confessed that he’s unsure about his future at Anfield especially with the COVID-19 pandemic causing more problems. The German international was supposed to be the answer for Liverpool but the arrival of Alisson Becker saw Karius leave on loan for Besiktas.
That was mitigated by two major errors the German international made in goal during the 2018 Champions League final which saw Real Madrid net twice to lift the trophy. While reports did indicate that Karius had a concussion after a collision with Los Blancos captain Sergio Ramos, the 26-year-old’s struggles before that saw Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp consider other options.
Karius’ replacement, Alisson Becker has transformed the club and it has seen the German international spend the last two years on loan in Turkey. While the loan deal does have an option to make things permanent, there have been no discussions between Besiktas and Liverpool with Karius also unsure about his future. In an interview recently, the 26-year-old went onto admit as much and also added that he is focused only on finishing the season with the Turkish club.
"I don't get involved in speculation. The fact is I have a contract at Liverpool until 2022. At the moment I'm just concentrating on the season at Besiktas. It's far too early to say anything about the summer, especially at the moment with no one knowing what exactly will happen because of coronavirus,” Karius told Sky Sports.
"I mainly message the goalkeeping coach John Achterberg - almost every week. He's my first point of contact. But now and then I also message Jurgen Klopp, I'm in touch with everyone. I've never been out of it."
The two mistakes against Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final in Kiev saw the Reds brushed aside by the Los Blancos and the German goalkeeper was subject to a lot of abuse after that. But less than three days after the incident, doctors and reports indicated that Karius had suffered a concussion during the game and the German confirmed as much. He also adamantly added that it was the reason why he struggled against Real Madrid.
"Believe me, I learned quite a lot from it! In hindsight, I should've dealt with it much more aggressively in public. I had a concussion after a whack from Sergio Ramos, which restricted my spatial vision. This was conclusively established in a thorough examination from one of the leading brain specialists in the world.”
"At first I was pleased to know what actually went on in that game, but I didn't want to make it public myself. When the result was published, there was a lot of malice and abuse, often below the belt. I never used it as an excuse but I don't understand it when people make jokes about someone suffering a serious head injury,” he added.
