There was a point over the summer when it looked like Jurgen Klopp was going to keep the faith with Loris Karius.
Several reports claimed that Klopp was happy to continue using Karius as his No. 1 goalkeeper despite his pair of errors in Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in May.
But the mistakes kept coming in the Reds’ preseason friendlies and Klopp ultimately decided that a change had to be made.
Alisson Becker arrived at Anfield last month for £66.8 million, making him the most expensive ‘keeper of all time until Kepa Arrizabalaga moved to Chelsea a couple of weeks later.
Contrary to popular belief, Klopp insists that Karius’ errors did not convince Liverpool to splash out on Alisson and apparently, the Reds boss almost turned his back on the deal for the Brazilian international following the criticism faced by Karius.
Speaking to German magazine Kicker , Klopp said: “I didn’t tell Loris what he wanted to hear, but that is how it is.
“The Champions League final had nothing to do with us getting Alisson. Even if he had won it and Alisson would have been on the market we would have still signed him.
“And how the people reacted negatively to Karius after the final, by trying to isolate him, that almost made me not sign Alisson and rather stick it out with Karius. But we had to be professional, our job is to have the best players in every position.
“Did the Champions League final mistake affect him badly? I don’t think so.
“There are worse things in the world, you should never forget that. We are talking about a luxury problem here. Who the No.1 is might be decisive for some. But it isn’t everything.”
The German goalkeeper has been linked with a loan move to Besiktas so it will be interesting to see if he lasts at Anfield beyond the rest of Europe’s transfer windows.
