Loris Karius has departed for Besiktas on a two-year loan, but claims Jurgen Klopp wanted to keep him at Anfield this season.
It has been a real summer of change in the goalkeeping department, with two out, one in and two new young faces getting a taste of senior action.
Danny Ward departed for Leicester City, while Karius left for Turkey’s top flight after Alisson was signed from AS Roma.
The upshot of all the movement is that Simon Mignolet has remained as the club’s No. 2, with Caoimhin Kelleher and Kamil Grabara battling it out to be third-choice.
For a time it seemed as though it would be Mignolet who departed on a permanent deal, but more than one rumoured move fell through this summer for the Belgian—and he hasn’t sounded overly happy to be kept as backup.
Now, Karius has shed light on the situation from his unveiling press conference at Besiktas.
“Jurgen Klopp told me he would like to have me in the squad because he wants to have the best quality players,” the German stopper said.
“But I spoke to him, I told him my wish and that it was important for me to make this move and play for Besiktas.
“I talked with him for a long time and he understands my situation.
“Then, I think it was a good deal for everyone so he wished me well but he said he would have liked to keep me, yes.”
That goes in line with what Klopp has said consistently throughout the summer: that he backs Karius entirely, has no reservations about his general performance level and would have been completely happy to keep him at Anfield.
It also goes some way toward explaining Mignolet’s comments about feeling strange that last term’s No. 1 was allowed to leave, but he was not.
Juggling the situation had undoubtedly been one of the trickier issues to handle this summer for the manager, who is well-known for being not just an impressive football coach, but also a top man manager.
The hope will be now that Mignolet remains his usual professional self and dedicates everything to the cause, albeit as an irregular performer, and Karius can make the best of his move to the Super Lig.
His move to Besiktas could eventually be worth £9.5 million all told, with a further 20 per cent of any future sale from Besiktas to another club due to the Reds.
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