Huge tide of support for under-fire Liverpool player

There has been a huge tide of support on social media today for under-fire goalkeeper Loris Karius after pictures from the first day of Liverpool training.

Perhaps it is the nice weather. Or maybe it is that hopeful feeling that greets pre-season with a new year of hopes and dreams for Liverpool Football Club. But the Liverpool fans came out today with a huge amount of support for the much maligned Loris Karius.

The Liverpool number one goalkeeper has been the subject of abuse and transfer speculation ever since his horror showing in the Champions League final last month. Therefore you would expect his first tweet of the pre-season, about his return to Melwood, to be met with a barrage of ugliness.

However the comments underneath are heavily in support of the German keeper:

The fans motto of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is ingrained into the fabric of the club. Many fans see it as personal mission statement; as long as you play for Liverpool Football club, we will support you and get your back. That even includes Loris Karius.

Obviously not every comment is a warm and cuddly love-in. There are the inevitable invitations to leave the club and other escalating forms of stunted intelligence channeled into anger. However they are greatly outnumbered by the well wishers.

This summer has seen a litany of goalkeeper transfer rumors. Off the top of my head: Jan Oblak; Alisson Becker; Jack Butland; Alex McCarthy; Kasper Schmeichel; Gianluigi Donnarumma; Thibaut Courtois and Thomas Strakosha.

Yet as it stands Loris Karius is still the man who has the gloves at Liverpool. The expectation is that the Reds will sell Simon Mignolet once he finishes at the World Cup with Belgium. Then they will look to sign another keeper.

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The question will be is a new signing going to supplant Karius, fight with him for a first team place or be a reserve on the bench?