Football
Glenn Price, Liverpool correspondent 6y

Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp wants Loris Karius to prove worth amid Butland links

Jurgen Klopp has challenged Loris Karius to prove that Liverpool do not need to go out and purchase a new goalkeeper.

Karius, 24, has taken permanent command of the No. 1 jersey ahead of Simon Mignolet, with his manager wanting the 24-year-old to silence his critics during his time as the first-choice option.

Stoke City's Jack Butland has been linked with a move to Liverpool recently, but Klopp believes his goalkeepers are harshly judged when compared to others.

"My favourite solution, always, is that we do it with our boys," Klopp said. "They step up, 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 Butland. I only saw the game [against Manchester United].

"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. These boys all have big quality.

"These lads are here and now they have to create a situation where they can show it every week. It doesn't mean they will be free of mistakes for the next 20 years. Nobody can do that."

Prior to his promotion, Karius was operating as Liverpool's goalkeeper in the Champions League this season, while playing three Premier League games when Klopp wanted to give Mignolet a rest.

The former Mainz shot-stopper endured a difficult spell as the starter last season, but Klopp feels his is better placed to succeed this time around.

When asked what he had seen to convince him that Karius was ready to become No. 1 again, Klopp said: "The games he played and the performances he's had in training. It's easy.

"I don't have any other opportunities to judge the situation. That is enough. That is what a football manager does most of the time -- he watches training, he watches the games. We gave him the opportunity to play a few games.

"The way I saw it, it made 100 percent sense to rotate over the Christmas period. Last year I decided already that if I had the opportunity to do it, we would do it between December 30 and January 1.

"It was so hard for all the players but the goalkeepers have mental stress and in games like this you want 100 percent concentration, it's not a physical thing. So I made the decision pretty early.

"Now we've changed the situation. It is not nice for Simon but it's a big chance for Loris. Wardy [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 even better in the future. We have a good situation -- a healthy situation, if you want.

"It is not that we want these discussions in public if they are there about goalkeepers. It is not a case of 'get somebody else.' It is about getting the right solution and it's possible that the right solution is one that we already have here."

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