Newcastle’s manager, Eddie Howe, has challenged Loris Karius “to rewrite the story of his career”. The former Liverpool goalkeeper is preparing to deputise for the suspended Nick Pope in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester United.
Karius’s career has been in sharp decline since his calamitous performance in the 2018 Champions League final when he was at fault for two goals as Liverpool lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in Kyiv.
He last played a competitive game two years ago for Union Berlin in the Bundesliga and is Newcastle’s third-choice behind Pope and the cup-tied Martin Dubravka.
Pope’s sending-off against Liverpool last Saturday and Dubravka’s unavailability after playing for Manchester United while on loan have propelled Karius up the pecking order. “It would be a magnificent chance for him to rewrite the story of his career,” Howe said. “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.