Liverpool loanee Loris Karius’s career nightmare has continued.
After two very odd seasons with Besiktas, the German returned to Anfield but was swiftly sent back to his homeland as Union Berlin took him on loan.
Loris Karius no longer has a Liverpool career, but it was hoped that he’d be able to return to the Bundesliga and recover some of the confidence and form that persuaded Jurgen Klopp to spend money to sign the goalkeeper in 2016.
He’s played 91 times in the Bundesliga but none of them has come this season as Union have preferred to start 33-year-old Andreas Luthe, who joined on a free transfer from Augsburg.
Luthe has had a very different career path. While Karius cut his teeth with Stuttgart’s youth system and was signed by Manchester City as a youngster, Luthe was breaking through into the Bochum side – where he played from 2009 to 2016.
With only 42 games in the Germany top flight and none in Europe, Luthe hasn’t got anywhere near the experience of Karius; who also has one cap for Germany.
And now a player who was seen to have great promise is now behind a man who has three times as many appearances in the Bundesliga II than in the top flight, has never played for Germany at any level and has no European experience.
This isn’t how Liverpool fans would have considered Karius’s season on loan with Union going. It’s definitely not how Karius would have seen it going.
So where now for the goalkeeper? His contract expires in 2021 and his future will lay away from Liverpool, unless something remarkable and unforeseen happens in the next six months.
He’ll be 28 by then and might have to forge the next stage of his career as a reliable number two until he gets a chance in the sun.
Sadly for the man, it appears as if his nightmare 90 minutes in the Champions League final will go on to define him.