Newcastle set to sign former Liverpool GK Loris Karius on a free

Luke Edwards from The Telegraph is reporting the addition of Loris Karius to the Newcastle United squad as a free agent. The German goalkeeper and former Liverpool shot-stopper has been targeted as a quick fix to solve the lack of depth at the position after Martin Dubravka was loaned out to Manchester United in late August, followed by Karl Darlow’s recent injury in a training session.

Karius' deal with Liverpool ran out at the end of last season with the GK hitting the free agent market after spending one year in his native Germany on loan at Union Berlin. Karius had spent time at Mainz 05—where he debuted in 2012-13—before joining Liverpool. He then moved on to Turkish side Besiktas on his first loan deal for two seasons where he started 55 games, and lastly joined Union Berlin where he only got to appear in four games starting three of them.

Entering his age-28 season, Karius is more known by the casual fan because of his blunders than his shot-stopping abilities. That said, he’s still young for a goalie, and signing him on a free won’t cause any problems to Newcastle’s board and dealings with Financial Fair Play issues going forward. There is also the chance the Magpies recall Dubravka from Manchester United later this season. However, that won’t be possible until January as it was specified in his loan deal with the Red Devils.

Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Karius lastly played in a 1-1 draw last February with Union Berlin against Hoffenheim where he started and played the full 90 minutes. He returned to Liverpool in time to see his contract finish last summer, thus entering the open market and offering his talents to the best and most willing bidders out there—of which there were none until now by the look of it.

Karl Darlow’s injury, reportedly ankle ligament damage, was suffered in a training season and is expected to leave the goalie sitting on the shelves and recovering for several months, reports The Telegraph.

This marks Newcastle’s fifth addition this season after signing all of Matt Targett, Nick Pope, Sven Botman, and Alexander Isak this summer ahead of the Premier League campaign.

We’ll add further information to this piece as soon as it gets out.