Journalist Kevin Hatchard recently revealed that he does not believe Newcastle United signing Loris Karius will return to the top level of the game and his confidence is ‘shot to pieces’.
After losing Martin Dubravka in the summer transfer window and subsequently backup Karl Darlow went down with an injury recently, the Magpies picked up free agent Karius in order to backup Nick Pope with Darlow out.
The German shot-stopper became a free agent after leaving Premier League giants Liverpool in July 2022 after a couple of loan moves to Turkish side Besiktas and Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin.
While Karius could be seen as a good backup option for Pope, Hatchard recently claimed he does not see the 29-year-old getting back to the top level of the game and believes his confidence is still in tatters after his Champions League blunder.
Hatchard said on the Game Day podcast, “And he just didn’t put him in he didn’t play well enough in training. And I think his confidence was already nosediving before that Champions League final in Kyiv. And now I think he’s shot to pieces that I think I’d be very, very surprised if he returns at the top level.” (25:44)
TIF Thoughts on Karius to Newcastle…
While Karius has played at the top level with Liverpool, he has barely featured in recent seasons, making just five appearances in the 20/21 season and he hasn’t made an appearance in the Premier League since the 17/18 season.
It is not surprising his confidence could be in bits after the Champions League blunder, he made a huge mistake on the biggest stage in club football. It would not be surprising if it still haunted him to this day.
Newcastle will be hoping Pope doesn’t go down with any sort of injury that will keep him out for an extended amount of time. The club has aspirations of challenging the top six, but if they have to roll out Karius for a substantial amount of time, they have no hope.
Will Karius play for Newcastle?Yes
No
|