Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp would prefer not to buy a new goalkeeper
Klopp believes 'the right solution' is already under his nose, having promoted Loris Karius to No 1
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Your support makes all the difference.Jürgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, has insisted that he would prefer not to buy a new goalkeeper this summer having entrusted Loris Karius with a starting spot.
Karius replaced Simon Mignolet in Klopp’s line-up for last weekend’s 4-3 victory over league leaders Manchester City at Anfield and will retain his place on Monday night, when Liverpool travel to play Swansea City.
The 24-year-old’s performance on Sunday was met with criticism though, particularly for his failure to stop Leroy Sané’s near-post equaliser at the end of the first half to make the score 1-1.
Karius, who signed from Mainz in the summer of 2016, arrived as Liverpool’s No 1 but lost his place the following December after several costly errors caused Klopp to turn back to the equally-erratic Mignolet.
The failure of either player to perform consistently has led to speculation that a new goalkeeper may be signed in the summer, with Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Roma’s Alisson both linked.
However, the Liverpool manager said on Friday cast doubt on whether a new ‘keeper is the answer and claimed that he would prefer it if the players he currently has at his disposal simply improved.
“My favourite solution, always, is that we do it with our boys,” Klopp said. “They deliver, they improve. The problem they have is that everyone is watching them [through a magnifying glass] and saying “still not good enough!”
“I will only mention one name. Everyone talks about him with us and that is [Stoke City’s Jack] Butland. I only saw the game [against Manchester United on Monday]. Fantastic goalkeeper but was he perfect? No. He wasn’t in that game. But everyone says “still better than our boys!”
“It makes no real sense if he comes in and makes a mistake in his first game. Everyone then says: ‘We need another and another one and another one.’ We have to cool down.”
Klopp added: “These boys all have big quality. These lads are here and now they have to create a situation where they show it every week. It doesn’t mean they will be free of mistakes for the next 20 years. Nobody can do that.”
Karius’ promotion appears to have frustrated Mignolet, who earlier this week told media in his native Belgium that his current situation at Anfield is “not healthy” and suggested that he is considering his long-term future.
“It is not nice for Simon but a big chance for Loris,” Klopp admitted. “[Danny] Ward is still here. He needs to do a lot of things that will make him better but he is here and he is still in our minds. He is a good goalkeeper, he has to be better in the future.
“We have a good situation – a healthy situation, if you want,” he added, in contrast to Mignolet’s assessment.
“It is not a case of ‘get somebody else’. It is ‘get the right solution’ and the right solution is the one that we already have here.”
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