Jurgen Klopp has offered his support to former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius who looks set to debut for Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.
Karius joined the Magpies as a free agent after leaving Liverpool last summer, and his first appearance in black and white could well come in the cup final.
Pope’s red card takes him out of the final
Karius could be required to step in
Newcastle face Manchester United on February 26, hoping to collect their first piece of domestic silverware in 68 years, but came away bruised from their Premier League clash against the Reds.
Eddie Howe was handed his second defeat of the season in the league thanks to early goals from Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, but things quickly got worse.
Mohamed Salah was picked out by Alisson Becker on a breakaway from a corner, and Nick Pope’s decision to run out and challenge him proved disastrous as he handled the ball outside of his area, triggering an instant red card.
Pope will now miss Newcastle’s next game, the final at Wembley, and Howe’s back-up options aren’t ideal.
Martin Dubravka came on in his place against Liverpool, but the Slovak spent the first half of the season on-loan at Man United, meaning he’s cup tied for the match.
Karl Darlow is currently on-loan at Hull City, meaning Howe’s options for the final are Karius and Mark Gillespie.
Karius is yet to appear since signing
Karius’ was contracted to Liverpool between 2016 and 2022, but his career with the club ended early in his last cup final.
Two errors against Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final saw Liverpool crash to a 3-1 defeat, and Karius’ time as a starter come to a teary end.
He never played for Klopp again, with loan stints at Besiktas and Union Berlin before his contract expired at the end of the 2021/22 season.
4Karius’ career dropped off a cliff after the final
But his fellow German is confident the goalkeeper can prove his worth at Wembley.
“Yeah, I heard about that,” Klopp said post-match. “I think they can absolutely rely on him, there’s no doubt about that.
“He’s a great goalie, that’s why Newcastle signed him, but of course unlucky for Nick Pope in the moment.
“Absolutely [it’s a good opportunity for him]. This is what he [Karius] was working for all the time, absolutely.”
