Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe says he spoke to former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius after the Reds’ win at the weekend.
Liverpool claimed a 2-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday evening. The match saw Magpies goalkeeper Nick Pope sent off for handball outside the penalty area.
As a result of the red card, Pope will be suspended for this weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester United. With Martin Dubravka cup-tied, Karius looks set to start in the final at Wembley Stadium.
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Karius spent six years contracted with Liverpool from 2016, leaving the club as a free agent last summer. His last appearance for the Reds was in the Champions League final loss to Real Madrid in Kyiv.
The German made high-profile errors leading to two Madrid goals in that final, and it would later be confirmed that the goalkeeper suffered from a concussion during the match. Karius has not played a minute of senior football for an English club since that final, and was signed as a free agent for Newcastle in September.
Howe would not confirm that Karius is a confirmed starter in the League Cup final, with Mark Gillespie also an option for Newcastle. But Howe says that he spoke to the former Reds stopper after Liverpool beat his side on Saturday night.
“It would be a magnificent chance for him to rewrite the story of his career,” Howe told The Guardian.
“There’s been loads of stories through the times in football where these things have happened and there’s been a really positive outcome … or not. We can’t predict what that will be.
“But as soon as it happened [Pope’s red card] there was that feeling there’s another story in Karius’s career – another page or chapter to write – and who knows what that chapter will look like.
“That’s the beauty of football. This unpredictability is what makes it such an amazing thing to watch.”
Howe added: “I chat to Loris every day. I talked to him on Saturday night – I felt the need to connect with him and speak with him. He was great, very relaxed
“That’s the kind of guy he is, a very cool customer. We’ve been thrown a challenge here.
“Nick’s suspended and Nick’s been a rock for us but no one, internally, is panicked or concerned.”
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