Loris Karius’ bold claim about Premier League clubs before transfer to Man City

Loris Karius claimed “half the Premier League wanted to sign me” before he opted to join Manchester City as a teenager.

The goalkeeper, who is best remembered for a shocking performance in the 2018 Champions League final, moved to the blue half of Manchester back in 2009. Karius was highly-rated having come through the ranks at Stuttgart and City were prepared to invest in his potential.

He never played for them however and moved to Mainz in 2011, where he spent the next five years. He found his way back to England with Liverpool but Karius claims he had a host of Premier League outfits chasing him as a youngster, but felt that City could give him an opportunity, but it wasn’t to be.

He previously told Transfermarkt: “I was playing in the U16 national team at the time, and there were a lot of scouts at the games. At 16 you could sign your first professional contract. I had offers from all sorts of clubs back then, but Manchester City went out of their way to help me.

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“They showed me a concrete plan, for example how I could make it to the senior game. That fascinated me. I could just as well imagine staying in Stuttgart – but the concept and their plan for me did not convince me as much as that of Man City. So I said to myself: I’m going to take the challenge and I’m going to England.

“Who else was interested? It felt like half of the Premier League. In Germany, I actually only dealt with Stuttgart because VfB was and is known to do great youth work. I enjoyed great training there. At that time I only listened to the plans of Man City and VfB.

“At that time, the arrival of investors [in clubs] was only just getting started. Man City was actually a club that relied heavily on its own youngsters. Many made the breakthrough, the academy was in a good position – that’s why I decided in the end on this club.”

It was Jurgen Klopp who brought his compatriot to Anfield, where he never truly established himself as first-choice. He made 29 league appearances across his two seasons on Merseyside but was the club’s European goalkeeper for their run to the final, where they lost to Real Madrid.

Karius threw the ball at Benzema, allowing him to slot home for the game’s opening goal. Then, with Liverpool trailing 2-1, the goalkeeper was unable to stop a long-range speculative shot from Gareth Bale as it went through his hands and into the net.

That would prove to be the end of his time at Liverpool, who went and bought Alisson. He had loan spells at Besiktas and Union Berlin before eventually getting a permanent move to Newcastle, where he’s largely been a squad player.

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