Liverpool goalkeeper hints at permanent move to the Bundesliga

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 13:54 BST
• 2 min read

Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius has suggested that he would be happy to stay in Germany until his contract with the Premier League club expires.

Karius joined Liverpool in 2016 on a five-year deal following the club paying a transfer fee of around £4.75 million. 

The German shot stopper worked his way into Jurgen Klopp’s first team and eventually became Liverpool’s No.1 goalkeeper. 

However, following a string of high-profile mistakes in the 2017/18 season, Karius left Liverpool to join Besiktas on loan for two seasons and then joined Union Berlin on a temporary deal in the summer of 2020. 

And while Karius may not be playing every week for the recently-promoted Bundesliga side, it seems as though he’s much happier in Germany than he was at Liverpool.

“I still have a contract with Liverpool until 2022. But of course I can imagine staying in Berlin if everything fits,” the goalkeeper told SportBild. 

“I’m not just passing through here. The mentality of the people and the spirit of the team are good for me. 

“I’m basically a down-to-earth guy, even if I drive an expensive car.”

The 27-year-old talent has had to bide his time in the German capital as Union’s second-choice keeper, but has since started four of the club’s last five games. 

And, even though he isn’t getting regular game time, the Liverpool player would seemingly be very happy to stay in Berlin next season. 

“I feel really good in Berlin and at Union,” Karius added. “Of course I want to play, but if that were different, then I wouldn’t have lost anything here either.”

Could Liverpool sell Karius this summer?

It seems unlikely that Liverpool would have any strong feelings about keeping Karius at the club next season rather than loaning him back out to another club. 

At the moment Klopp currently has Alisson as his undisputed first-choice goalkeeper, but he also has an experienced back-up option in Adrian or an exciting, young prospect in Caoimhin Kelleher. 

However, the Anfield side may take some issue with simply letting Karius leave for free in the summer of 2022 and may instead wish to recuperate some cash for the player this summer in pushing for a permanent transfer rather than another loan deal.