Jurgen Klopp says Newcastle have a ‘great goalie’ in Loris Karius with Nick Pope out of Carabao Cup

Jurgen Klopp insists Newcastle can ‘absolutely trust’ Loris Karius, if he is asked to replace Nick Pope in next week’s Carabao Cup final.

Pope was sent off against Liverpool on Saturday after touching the ball outside the box, denying a clear scoring chance, with Mohamed Salah running towards goal as Liverpool launched a counter-attack.

As a result, the England international will miss Newcastle’s upcoming Carabao Cup final, the club’s first cup final since 1999, through suspension.

And the dramatic twist of fate could see Karius, a disgraced former Reds goalkeeper, return in what would be his first game for an English club since a disastrous performance in the 2018 Champions League final.

Karius made several high-profile howls between the sticks for Liverpool as they bid to win Europe’s most prestigious club trophy, giving away two goals in a game that Real Madrid ultimately won 3-1 on the night.

Pope’s red card at St. James’ Park will rule him out of next weekend’s final at Wembley against Manchester United.

But to make matters worse, backup goalkeeper Marcin Dubravka won’t be able to play for the Magpies either, and regular third choice Karl Darlow is on loan until the end of the season at Championship Hull, and won’t be able to be called up.

Dubravka is cup-tied, having turned up for Newcastle’s Wembley opponents Man United, in an ironic twist, turned up against Aston Villa and Burnley in the third and fourth rounds of the competition.

As a result, Howe has to make a decision on which goaltender he will call to replace.

Karius is an option, although he hasn’t featured for Newcastle since the German arrived in September 2022, with Mark Gillespie also available for selection.

Karius departed from Anfield shortly after his dismal Champions League final performance, joining Besiktas on a two-year loan, followed by a spell with German side Union Berlin, before leaving as a free agent in 2022.

Liverpool reached the 2018 Champions League final on a surge of optimism, with Salah in the midst of a prodigiously purple patch under Klopp, though he was tearfully substituted early on after a challenge from Sergio Ramos.

And things quickly went from bad to worse, after Karius rolled the ball straight to Karim Benzema under seemingly little pressure, for the French number 9 to score from inside the box on 51 minutes to break the tie.

Gareth Bale then scored arguably the greatest goal ever in the competition with a tremendous bicycle kick that Karius’s successor Alisson might not have even prevented.

But the German was entirely to blame once again for Bale’s second goal of the night and Los Blancos’ third, and ultimately decisive, of the night.

The Welshman picked up the ball and released it from around 35 meters in a speculative attempt that went straight to Karius.

However, Karius was unable to keep the ball out as it inexplicably flew through his hands and curled up in the back of the net to the surprise of all 22 players on the field.

It would be the German’s last performance in a Liverpool shirt, and one that many say cost his team a Champions League crown, but now he has a chance to redeem himself in the cup final.

Yet despite his disastrous performance in 2018, Klopp cheered Newcastle fans at the prospect of the infamous goalkeeper returning to action for the English club.

“You can absolutely trust him, there’s no question he’s a great goalkeeper, that’s why Newcastle signed him,” he said after Saturday’s game. “But of course, unfortunate for Nick Pope at the time, really unfortunate.”

And perhaps not wanting to cast doubt on a goalkeeper who could be called up for Newcastle’s biggest game in nearly 24 years, Howe lent his endorsement to both Karius and Gillespie.

“They have started games away from competitive action in various friendlies and training games. I would say they are ready for the game.

‘I would trust them, that’s what they’re on the squad for. Both have been very competitive and part of our group all season. I have full confidence.

“I’m so sorry for Nick. [Pope]. It’s very difficult, he came out and misjudged the ball a bit, I guess technically it’s a handball, I don’t know the red card rules.

The red card proved decisive in not one, but several games for Newcastle, and Howe declined to comment on whether he would appeal the decision.

Under certain circumstances, an appeal against a red card can be made to have it overturned if there is a strong enough belief that the decision made was wrong.

And as Sportsmail’s Craig Hope reports, the Magpies boss would not rule out a possible appeal against the sacking, as well as saying: ‘I think the red card (for Nick Pope) was harsh. The referee could have easily given a yellow card.’

Hope also reports that Howe confirmed that he would not be able to remove Darlow from his loan at the second-tier side, where he has yet to make a single league appearance.

Gillespie, the other option for Howe in his newly outlined goalkeeping crisis, has at least represented the club this season, albeit in Premier League 2 competition.

However, he made three appearances for the Magpies in the 2020-21 season, with each of his appearances coming in the Carabao Cup.

And at 30, he is at least an experienced goalkeeper, rather than an inexperienced young prospect, having amassed 279 appearances for Carlisle, Motherwell and Walsall.

But regardless of who gets to put on the gloves, Pope may be in for some agonizing crowd-watching after his outpouring of blood to the head on Saturday.

However, as Allan Saint-Maximin claims, his teammates will be behind him.

“It’s a very bad day,” said the French striker. “I feel sad for Nick Pope because he tried to help the team.

‘It’s a bad red card for the team because they won’t be able to play the [Carabao] Final Cup. He helped us get into that situation, so we need to root for him and support him as a team.”