After another season of a lack of quality in goal during the 2015-16 season, Liverpool bought German goalkeeper Loris Karius last summer.
Costing just £4.7million, Karius was voted the Bundesliga’s best goalkeeper that season. At just 22 years old, he was seen as Simon Mignolet’s replacement as Liverpool looked to finally add a world class keeper to the squad.
It hasn’t quite turned out that way, though. After Karius broke his hand in pre-season, Mignolet was brought in, then dropped after Karius recovered, which was unfair on the Belgian as he was having a good start to the season. But Karius was clearly bought to be Liverpool’s new number one.
A string of shaky performances followed as Karius struggled to find his footing in England. Criticism came from all angles afterwards which caused Jürgen Klopp to bring Mignolet back into the team.
Mignolet took his chance and ran with it. He had a great season, becoming an integral part in securing a Champions League place with some crucial saves. During his time out, he must have put in some serious time on the training pitch because everything he was criticised for, he improved upon.
Last season, he has made 0.82 punches per 90 mins compared to the previous year’s 0.50. He also made 2.29 catches per 90 mins this season compared to 2.18 last. He conceded less goals per 90 mins, made less defensive errors per 90 mins, made more saves per 90 mins and made more saves per goal per 90 mins last year.
There is a cliche in football that states your goalkeeper should save you 10-15 points a season. Mignolet never seemed to be that keeper for Liverpool but during the last campaign, he did exactly that. He has proved his critics wrong and became a goalkeeper who Liverpool could rely on when needed.
This time last year, the signing of Karius was celebrated by Liverpool fans because of how bad Mignolet had been, but now I believe Liverpool’s goalkeeping situation is in a very good place and should stay that way going into next season. Liverpool do not need to buy a new number one this summer.
In an ideal scenario, every team would have three goalies in their squad. With Alex Manninger retiring and Danny Ward probably going back out on loan to Huddersfield Town, Liverpool might want to bring in a Manninger-type player, an old experienced goalie who won’t play at all, but will help out the other keepers. But apart from that, Mignolet and Karius should be Liverpool’s top two goalkeepers next season.
Mignolet has massively improved this season and has earned his place as Liverpool’s number one. Seen as the team’s weakest link not too long ago, I believe he should start next season between the posts.
As for Karius, fans shouldn’t be too quick to write him off. He wasn’t voted best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga for no reason. Still only 23 years old, some seem to forget that most goalkeepers peak at a much older age than outfield players. His best years are still to come and I am confident that he will come good and become Liverpool’s future number one.
We shouldn’t forget about Danny Ward too. Also 23, Ward has just finished a very successful season on loan at Huddersfield where they earned promotion to the Premier League via the Play-offs. Ward was the hero in the semi-final and final shoot-outs saving four out of 10 penalties. He is likely to go back on loan to Huddersfield for their return to England’s top flight. That will provide the Welshman with the chance to develop an stake a claim to be Liverpool’s goalkeeper in the future.
Liverpool’s goalkeeper situation looks very good at the moment. What seemed like the weakest part of the squad now looks to have a bright future. A few months ago, a goalie would have probably been on the top of most fans transfer wishl ist, but now it seems like Liverpool are in safe hands and money can be spent elsewhere.
