It seems to me that Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius has become a laughing stock in the football world. Crucial errors in May’s 3-1 Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid saw him lambasted by fans and media alike.

His pre-season performances have not exactly been convincing, as he made mistakes against Tranmere and Dortmund. It seems the German goalkeeper’s confidence is on the deck.

Is surplus to requirements at Liverpool

Liverpool pursued a new goalkeeper for much of the summer and recently snapped up highly-rated Brazilian number one Alisson for a fee of around £67million from Roma. The Reds signed Alisson despite boss Jurgen Klopp previously stating his faith in his compatriot.

Unfortunately for Karius, his compatriot’s patient with him snapped, which led to the big money signing of Alisson. The former Internacional goalkeeper has arrived to be number one at Anfield, so Karius has suffered demotion to number two goalkeeper for the Reds.

Alisson’s arrival and the mistakes have raised doubts over the future on Merseyside, where it now seems he is surplus to requirements.

Karius does seem like a decent goalkeeper

Despite what some fans and experts would have you believe, Karius is not a terrible goalkeeper. In fact, Klopp has probably stuck with him as he saw potential in the stopper.

At 25, he is not a great age for a goalkeeper, a position where players tend to hit their prime later on than outfield players. Some great goalkeepers of the modern era like Peter Schmeichel, Neville Southall and Gianluigi Buffon have played into their late thirties, and in Buffon’s case is still playing.

Maybe the move to Liverpool was a case of too much too soon for Karius. Maybe the step up from a minnow like Mainz to a high profile club like Liverpool was just too much mentally for him.

At the minute he is playing like a goalkeeper with absolutely no confidence or faith in his ability. The criticism he has received from all sections of the football world has not helped him forget about his mistakes.

Needs to move on and enjoy his football

Karius will never be able to get over his mistakes as a Liverpool player. He will continuously be reminded of the Champions League final, which will be bad for everybody involved, but mostly the player himself.

The fact that he keeps making silly mistakes points to the fact that he is not over his previous mistakes. Karius could go on to become a top goalkeeper in the future. However, it seems highly doubtful that will happen while he is a Liverpool player.

If he moves on to a club with a less high profile, he may be able to rebuild his career. He may one day return to another high profile club and have benefitted from learning his trade out of the limelight.

If Karius stays at Liverpool, his career will go nowhere, and the talent he does have as a goalkeeper may be wasted. I believe he has the potential to become an excellent ‘keeper in the future, but to do that he needs to sort his head out. That seems unlikely to happen at Liverpool.

Will Loris Karius still be a Liverpool at the start of the new season?