It is unlikely Loris Karius will ever forget the 2018 Champions League final.
In the starting line-up for Liverpool against Real Madrid in European club football’s showpiece, the German was taking the field for the biggest game of his professional career. It should have been a day to remember for all the right reasons, but in the end it was anything but.
As the Reds lost 3-1, Karius was at fault for two of the goals – first, he threw the ball right at Karim Benzema’s foot to give Los Merengues the lead, whilst he fumbled Gareth Bale’s speculative and seemingly harmless effort later on.
That proved to be his last appearance to date for Liverpool. He was loaned out to Besiktas for two seasons in the summer of 2018, and he has been with the Super Lig side ever since.
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Clearly, he hasn’t done enough to convince the Turkish team to sign him permanently. According to Fotospor, they do not want to pay to keep him, which has left Karius in a desperate situation. So much so, he is said to be preparing to ask Liverpool to cancel the remainder of his contract.
Of course, allowing him to leave for free would leave the Anfield outfit out of pocket – they paid Mainz £4.7m for his services back in 2016 – but, whilst that would make little sense from a pure business point of view, they should still look to grant him his wish.
At the end of the day, Karius has no future on Merseyside. Alisson is undoubtedly Jurgen Klopp’s number one, and in Adrian, they have a handy back-up option. The scars of that Karius performance will never heal at Liverpool, regardless of them having since won the very same competition he cost them. £4.7m is far from a huge fee, and his departure would at the very least save them £25,000 a week in wages.
It is time for all involved to move on. The Liverpool fans are unlikely to want him back – they were scathing of him when he played for them – and letting the stopper go would allow him to cut ties with a place that will only have bad memories. Aged 26, he still has a future in the game ahead, and he can try to restore his reputation.
Elsewhere, this Liverpool target with “incredible technique” has received rave reviews.