Loris Karius ‘could be sent BACK to Liverpool in January’ by Union Berlin… with the goalkeeper only playing once since joining on loan in the summer
- Loris Karius has not played for Liverpool since the 2018 Champions League final
- The German was at fault for two goals as Real Madrid beat the Reds 3-1 in Kiev
- Karius is now on loan at Union Berlin but could return to Liverpool in January
- The 28-year-old has played just once in three months at the Bundesliga club
Loris Karius is set to make a return to Liverpool in January after a dismal loan spell at Union Berlin, according to reports.
The German goalkeeper has not played a professional match for the Reds since his shocking 2018 Champions League final performance, where he was at fault for two goals in Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in Kiev.
Karius spent the last two seasons on loan at Besiktas but his temporary deal there was cut short after falling out with the club’s hierarchy and he was shipped out to Bundesliga side Union at the start of the season.
Loris Karius is set for a Liverpool return in January after a poor spell in Germany, say reports
Karius has played just once for Union Berlin since September, a 3-2 loss to Paderborn this week
But according to German news outlet Kicker, Karius is set for another cancelled loan move after failing to make a single league appearance for the Berlin club since moving in September.
The on-loan Liverpool shot stopper has had to settle for a back-up goalkeeper role behind 33-year-old Andreas Luthe, who has been ever-present for the Bundesliga surprise package currently sitting in sixth place.
Karius made his first ever appearance for the German side on Tuesday night in a home cup clash with second-tier Paderborn, but Union ended up on the wrong side of a upset with the visitors running out 3-2 winners.
Karius (left) has not played for Liverpool since his errors in the 2018 Champions League final
Karius gaveone goal to Karim Benzema while he also spilled Gareth Bale’s shot into his own net
The German was Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper in the 2017-18 season and stepped in after regular option Simon Mignloet dipped in form and make some costly errors.
But Karius ended up producing errors himself, most notably in the crushing defeat to Real Madrid on the biggest European stage of all two-and-a-half years ago.
Karius’s throw out was intercepted and converted by Karim Benzema to put the Spanish side 1-0 up in the Champions League final, before the German spilled a long-range Gareth Bale shot into his net to end the contest at 3-1.
The goalkeeper, who was in tears at the full-time whistle of the Madrid defeat, claims he is over the incident but does not see a future for him at Liverpool.
Karius (above) was in tears at the full-time whistle but he now claims he is over the incident
He told the Bundesliga’s official website in October: ‘That (match) was two years ago. I’ve played over 60 matches since. That doesn’t play a role anymore.
‘I long put it behind me. The only people who want to talk about it are the journalists. It’s boring for me now.
‘I’ve gained the sort of experience few have at my age, taken it all on board, positive and negative, and have come out stronger. I think some things, particularly here in Germany, were and are still taken too negatively.’
Karius spent the last two seasons on loan at Besiktas but he fell out with the Turkish club
After Karius’ error in Kiev, Liverpool signed shot stopper Alisson Becker from Roma for £66million – with the Brazilian now firmly the Reds’ number one option.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds also have young Irish goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher as a second-choice option, with the 22-year-old performing well for Liverpool while Alisson was out injured earlier this year.
