Soccer Football - Premier League - Fulham v Newcastle United - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - October 1, 2022 Newcastle United's Loris Karius during the warm up before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Chris Waugh has insisted that loris Karius could now be set to stay at Newcastle United heading into next season.
The Lowdown: Karius has proved himself once again
Karius was certainly thrown in at the deep end last Sunday as he made his competitive Newcastle debut in a cup final at Wembley and didn’t do himself any disservice despite failing to keep a clean sheet.
The German international could do nothing about Casemiro’s close-range header and was then beaten by a Sven Botman deflection for the second goal that killed the game completely.
It seems as though that one performance at Wembley has made teams around Europe remember what kind of keeper he is with Serie A champions Inter Milan reportedly keen on landing him on a free transfer this summer.
The Latest: Howe may wish to keep Karius at Newcastle
Waugh has claimed on Pod on the Tyne that Newcastle may well now look to extend Karius’ deal with Martin Dubravka more likely to move on.
He said: (15:35) “I think there’s a chance he could stay because I think it partly depends on what happens with Martin Dubravka.
“If Darlow also wants to go then they’ve got a decision to make on a few different keepers and I think Dubravka will probably get options to be potentially first choice elsewhere, so if he goes then I think it would make sense to keep Loris Karius, even if it is as a third-choice keeper you don’t want to be signing several keepers this summer.”
The Verdict: An unlikely lifeline
Considering the fact that Eddie Howe was frustrated by the goalkeeper situation heading into the Carabao Cup final and didn’t show much confidence prior to the match in the German, it comes as some surprise that he could potentially stay at the club. Especially as he’s even attracting interest from Inter Milan at this moment in time.
It would have been unfathomable to think Karius would be likely to stay with Newcastle just a few weeks ago before he performed admirably at Wembley for the Magpies but that may have now handed him multiple options heading into the summer.
Karius’ girlfriend is indeed a presenter out in Italy so a move to Inter Milan could be a better move for him personally, while also being able to compete in the Champions League so the German could still even reject the Magpies.
Newcastle called on Karius during their goalkeeper crisis earlier in the season and would be fitting if he stuck around and pushed someone such as Nick Pope in training to ensure he keeps up his high standards.
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