Karius close to Besiktas loan move
Liverpool agree two-year deal for ousted keeper Brighton’s Balogun in dig at United intensity
Loris Karius’s turbulent time at Liverpool is set to come to an end after the club agreed a two-year loan deal with Turkish side Besiktas.
The goalkeeper, who made two costly errors in last season’s Champions League final, has fallen down the pecking order following the arrival of Alisson Becker for £67 million in the summer.
If Karius agrees to the move, his departure will result in Simon Mignolet, who had been expected to leave this summer, serving as Jurgen Klopp’s second-choice goalkeeper this season.
Karius travelled with the Liverpool squad to London for last night’s meeting with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park but was not included on the bench.
Besiktas will pay a £2.25million loan fee to Liverpool, and would pay £7.25 million if the deal became permanent. Liverpool had paid £4.75 million for Karius in the summer of 2016 and would receive 20 per cent of any future fee should Besiktas choose to sell him on.
Karius’s standing at the club was damaged by his performance in the Champions League final, although it later emerged that he had sustained a concussion prior to making two glaring errors in Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Real Madrid.
He was not helped by a poor start to pre-season, though, and the signing of Alisson made it clear that he no longer featured in Klopp’s plans at Anfield.
Liverpool have also sold Danny Ward, another goalkeeper, this summer after agreeing a £12.5million deal with Leicester City.
Meanwhile, Brighton defender Leon Balogun has said that playing Liverpool will be “a lot more intense” than Manchester United after making his Premier League debut in Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Jose Mourinho’s side.
Balogun, who joined on a free transfer from Mainz in the summer, said he expects Klopp’s side to be much “faster” than United. Asked after the game how his first experience of the Premier League compared to the Bundesliga, Balogun said: “I had expected [the Premier League] to be quicker. But they told me this is the kind of game you play against United. They like to slow it down a bit. Liverpool is going to be completely different [on Saturday].”