John Barnes shared that Liverpool fans would accept Loris Karius being the club’s first-choice goalkeeper next season as long as Jurgen Klopp backed him.
The former Reds player delivered his intriguing verdict on the 24-year-old’s future after the goalkeeper was recently panned by pundits and fans alike for his blunders during the Champions League final.
Barnes claimed that Karius could redeem himself amongst supporters, similar to how Dejan Lovren did, as the Anfield faithful love Klopp so much they wouldn’t question his decisions.
“The good thing is the Liverpool fans love Jurgen Klopp so much that if Klopp backs him [Karius], the fans will back him,” said Barnes on Alan Brazil’s Sports Breakfast on Tuesday morning, as quoted by talkSPORT’s website.
“It is the question as to whether he will have that confidence and that personality and that character to come back from the mistake.
“Look at [Dejan] Lovren against Tottenham, when he got hooked off after 29 minutes after not playing very well. Jurgen Klopp put him back in the team the very next game and the fans back him, because they love Jurgen so much they back his decisions.
“So it’s not a question of if the fans will back him; if Jurgen Klopp backs him the fans will back him.
“It’s a question of whether Karius has the character to come back after that.”
OPINION
Everyone in recent weeks has come out of the woodwork to kick Karius while he was down. It seems Barnes has a completely different opinion of the goalkeeper’s potential future at the club as he is not all doom and gloom. While Reds supporters may have been fuming at the keeper’s performance so much so that they were crying out for him to be replaced, their anger will fade. As talkSPORT’s article refers to, doctors have recently confirmed that Karius suffered a concussion during that game and that has already eased the negative vibes being directed at the 24-year-old. While the 24-year-old’s unfortunate injury won’t change the fact that the Reds failed to lift the Champions League trophy, it’s hard to not feel sorry for him. Clearly his head trauma would have had some effect on his display during the match and it’s a shame that he suffered such an injury on one of the grandest stage’s in football. Barnes is right to assume that as long as the young German has the right character, after making 33 appearances in the 2017/18 campaign, he can come back stronger.
