Liverpool Transfer News: Latest Loris Karius, Riccardo Saponara Rumours
Liverpool will reportedly face competition from Aston Villa and Arsenal in the race for the signature of Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius, one of Germany's next great stopper prospects.
The Reds have reportedly been eyeing the 22-year-old for some time, but it now seems new Villa boss Remi Garde will push hard for the talented youngster, per the Sun (h/t Daily Star's Alex Wood).
Karius signed a new deal with Mainz after establishing himself as one of the Bundesliga's top prospects after an unsuccessful spell in Manchester City's youth setup. A regular starter since the 2013-14 season, Karius is already a proven, established goalkeeper despite his tender age.
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The youngster is widely expected to have a massive future ahead of him, and he'll likely think carefully about his next destination. A move to Arsenal seems next to impossible, due to the presence of Petr Cech, but Liverpool should interest Karius.
Current starter Simon Mignolet remains a solid shot-stopper, but his struggles with distribution continued during Sunday's 2-1 loss against Crystal Palace. On more than one occasion, he put his defenders under a lot of pressure, and the Daily Mirror's Neil Docking was anything but impressed:
When the Daily Mirror recently broke down the statistics behind the Premier League's top goalkeepers, looking at their saves-per-goal ratio in particular, the Belgium international didn't even crack the top 10.
Mignolet is a good goalkeeper, but you'll be hard-pressed to find analysts who put him on the same level as Cech, David de Gea, Thibaut Courtois or Joe Hart, who all play in goal for the Premier League's title hopefuls. The Reds would love to join that group, and Mignolet may not be good enough to do so.
Karius is arguably the Bundesliga's second-best young stopper behind Bayer Leverkusen's Bernd Leno, and the gap isn't as big as you'd think. He's a superb athlete with excellent reflexes, and while his saves sometimes look very clumsy―particularly on low shots toward his legs―he usually gets the job done.
He understands shooting lanes well and positions himself in such a way that most of his saves look easier than they should be. Most importantly, he does a good job of punching the ball away from danger whenever he can, which is something Mignolet can struggle with. Against Crystal Palace, he delivered to Scott Dann the winner on a platter.
Karius isn't a world-class stopper, but he does have incredible potential and remarkable experience for a player his age. He's a goalkeeper Reds manager Jurgen Klopp should be familiar with, and if the reports of Liverpool's interest in his services are real, Klopp likely has something to do with that.
Aston Villa present another tantalising destination, however. Start Brad Guzan has struggled in 2015-16, and if Karius were to join the Villans, it would be as a virtual lock to start immediately. But the chance to work under Klopp at Anfield may be too good to pass up for the young German, so a January move to Liverpool is certainly an option.
Riccardo Saponara Eyed
Another youngster rumoured to be on Klopp's wish list for January is Empoli star Riccardo Saponara, according to Italian newspaper Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia). The 23-year-old attacking midfielder has once again started the 2015-16 campaign in stunning form, and he's a likely candidate to translate his form into a move to a bigger club.
Saponara moved to AC Milan from Empoli in 2013, at a time when the Rossoneri were in complete turmoil, and he never got a fair chance to show what he could do. He was loaned back to Empoli in a deal that contained a buy-out clause in January, and he proceeded to tear up Serie A in the final half of the 2015-16 campaign.
Naturally, Empoli triggered the clause, something Beyond the Pitch's Anto struggles with to this day:
Saponara has scored four goals and added four assists in nine Serie A matches this season, per WhoScored.com. FourFourTwo's Adam Digby is hardly surprised:
Saponara is on the verge of becoming a major star, but he needs to show his impressive abilities on a bigger stage. Empoli have already confirmed Italian champions Juventus have opened negotiations, which explains why Liverpool would make their interest known before the January window opens, per Football Italia.
The Bianconeri bought Hernanes from Inter Milan during the summer to fill their big need for an attacking midfielder, and so far that hasn't worked out. Saponara would be a natural replacement for the Brazilian, which gives Juventus a big advantage in negotiations.
Liverpool already field a ball-dominant attacking midfielder in Philippe Coutinho, and while Saponara could pair with the Brazilian and push Adam Lallana out of the squad, his path to the starting XI looks less clear than it would in Turin.
He would make an excellent addition to Klopp's squad, but Empoli and Juventus have had a positive relationship for years, evidenced by the ease with which the deal for Daniele Rugani was struck. In all likelihood, they will come to an agreement regarding Saponara as well.
