‘It’s the right decision to keep him’ – David James backs Loris Karius to come back from Kiev nightmare and prove himself at Liverpool
The former Reds goalkeeper insists the young German glovesman shouldn't be written off because of his Champions League final performance
Liverpool have made the right decision to stick by Loris Karius and not replace him in the summer transfer window, according to David James, who believes he could become a ‘special’ goalkeeper.
According to reports this week, the Reds plan to keep Karius as their number one for next season despite his Champions League final nightmare against Real Madrid.
The 25-year-old German had a shocker in Kiev.
He was directly at fault for two goals as the Spanish giants sealed a 3-1 victory and claimed their third straight European crown.
In the aftermath of the game, it was claimed Karius’ disastrous display was actually due to concussion he suffered in a collision with Sergio Ramos in the second-half, but that did not stop Liverpool fans from blaming the goalkeeper for the defeat.
Liverpool have been heavily linked with signing a new goalkeeper this summer - with Roma’s Alisson, Barcelona’s Jasper Cillessen, Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Stoke City’s Jack Butland all mentioned as possible targets.
But it appears Reds boss Jurgen Klopp will keep faith with countryman Karius for the forthcoming season.
And former Liverpool star, James, approves.
Speaking to talkSPORT host Jim White on Thursday, the ex-England No.1 said: “I was at the game in Kiev and I saw the incident with Ramos at 0-0 where Karius took a blow and I thought it looked like a big blow because of the way he fell to the floor, and three minutes later they score the first goal.
“I was saying to people at the game there was something wrong with what happened, and lo and behold Liverpool got him assessed and there was evidence of some concussion.
“I like the keeper, I think he’s got the potential to be really, really good – special even – but unfortunately when that happens in the Champions League final, everybody is watching.
“I think that if Liverpool were to decide to get rid of him or bring someone else in because of one incident, that it wouldn’t be showing so much faith. One thing Jürgen has done with his squad, hence the reason why they get to European finals, is he’s shown faith in the players he has.
“So I think it’s the right decision to keep Karius on.
“To sign a replacement for Karius because of Kiev, I think that would be the wrong thing to do.
“The kneejerk reaction from fans after Kiev was to get someone else in.
“He’ll understand that he will make another mistake – that’s the life of a goalkeeper.
“But providing the under-performance in Kiev was down to a blow to the head, then there’s nothing to say he shouldn’t be getting back to the level he was at before and improving on it.”
Listen back to former Liverpool and England goalkeeper David James on talkSPORT in full above!