If you've just awoken from a year-long coma - do not adjust your eyes. Loris Karius will start for Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final this Sunday. The shot-stopper, initially brought to Tyneside on a short-term deal earlier this season, has been thrust into the spotlight for the Magpies' biggest game in years due to some serious bad luck.
Nick Pope, who had not put a foot wrong this season before Saturday, is now left to rue the uncharacteristic error he made against Liverpool. With Martin Dubravka cup-tied and Karl Darlow out on loan, Newcastle will turn to Karius when they walk out at Wembley this weekend.
The ex-Liverpool goalkeeper has not played a competitive game of football since February 2021 when Union Berlin took on Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. Karius' last competitive game in English football was the 2018 Champions League final; a match he has long wished he could forget.
READ MORE: Nick Pope sent message by Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss asks why Newcastle team-mate can't play
Karius' role in that ill-fated night has been well-documented. His two mistakes led to Real Madrid goals and there were tears from the German after the full-time whistle. “I know that I messed everything up,” Karius would later tweet. “I am infinitely sorry.”
Five days after the final Karius, at Liverpool’s insistence and following a phone call to Jurgen Klopp from German legend Franz Beckenbauer, underwent a head scan at a hospital in the United States.
The results showed the goalkeeper had sustained a concussion during a collision with Sergio Ramos in the early stages of the final. According to Klopp, Karius displayed “26 of 30 concussion markers” during tests.
That didn't stop supporters bombarding the goalkeeper with vile death threats as he tried to get his Liverpool career back on track. “It’s insane what people come out with under the guise of anonymity, badly insulting others, discriminating against them and then becoming racist," Karius said of the messages.
"You can’t blame fans if they whistle a player. They pay admission and have the right to be dissatisfied. A professional has to endure that. But if there are personal insults or death threats, the limit is far exceeded."
Klopp and Liverpol initially vowed to stand by Karius after his nightmare on the biggest stage of them all. However, after shaky performances in pre-season, highly-rated Brazilian Allison arrived at Anfield from Roma for a mammoth fee and Karius was shipped out to Besiktas on a two-year loan deal.
The 29-year-old made 55 appearances for the Turkish club, followed by four for Union Berlin in his native Germany in a further loan spell away from Merseyside. But his exploits abroad were nowhere good enough to win a spot at Liverpool back.
Karius' Anfield career was unsalvageable. The club felt they had moved on while his career had stagnated. It was then up to the player to find a new challenge, with Italy and Spain initially catching his eye.
"It is important to me that it fits," Karius said as he planned to become a free agent. "The club has to be up for it, I have to be up for it and the coach has to be up for it.
"Last year taught me again that you have to exchange ideas intensively with those responsible and that you really have to pay attention to your intuition. I don’t know if it has to be something completely exotic. But Spain, Italy – I can already imagine something like that, if it fits."
Serie A and La Liga clubs didn't come knocking but Newcastle did. Thrust into an emergency following an injury to Darlow, the Magpies needed extra cover in between the sticks earlier this term.
Karius and Ben Foster were the only two realistic names available at the time but the latter opted against a move up north before calling time on his playing career. That left Karius with the chance to make an unexpected return to English football.
Not many Newcastle supporters thought the German would earn many minutes, let alone start in a cup final. However, Karius has worked extremely hard behind the scenes to play his part for the north east outfit.
His short-term deal at St James' Park was extended earlier this year after such work on the training pitch, allowing Darlow to leave for Championship side Hull City. He has, however, only featured once for Howe's side, enjoying an impressive 45 minutes against Al-Hilal in a mid-season friendly in December.
At 29, Karius has vital experience around the dressing room and has been keeping fit as part of Howe's first-team quartet of late. The Toon boss has also championed him at every turn.
"I think he’s been a very calming influence," Howe said in Saudi Arabia. "He’s a goalkeeper with a lot of experience. He’s trained well. He’s a very good character. He’s very popular in the changing room, the lads have really taken to him. He’s a positive influence, and that’s why I’d like him to stay."
Howe insists Karius is ready to stand in this weekend. Newcastle fans have no idea what to expect. But the one-time Liverpool hero has the perfect chance for a Hollywood-esque redemption story in the capital this weekend.
READ NEXT
- Eddie Howe's words should warn Manchester United and Jurgen Klopp thinks Newcastle have solution
- Newcastle have another obvious Nick Pope fix as Manchester United warned of 'a lot of problems'
- Joelinton plea ignored by Howe, Saint-Maximin's unseen moment and special guests watch Newcastle
- Nick Pope's classy move at half-time and the huge pre-Wembley injury boost for Newcastle United
- Liverpool stars Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold pay back-handed compliment to Newcastle United
