Newcastle United waved goodbye to Loris Karius this summer as part of the club’s goalkeeper reshuffle.
It was a disappointing summer window for Newcastle United after missing out on several top centre-back and winger targets.
One area that was addressed was the goalkeeping department with Newcastle welcoming John Ruddy and Odysseas Vlachodimos.
But even that didn’t quite go to plan as Eddie Howe wanted a goalkeeper to challenge Nick Pope. Vlachodimos is a promising young goalkeeper but is not ready to provide serious competition to Pope.
As a result, Newcastle remain interested in James Trafford and could return with a bid in January for the Burnley shot-stopper.
Newcastle already have five goalkeepers on the books, but one that was deemed excess to requirements was Loris Karius.
Loris Karius at Newcastle United
After his miserable stint at Liverpool, which included that horror performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League final, Karius swapped Merseyside for Tyneside.
He joined Newcastle in 2022 as a free agent and was initially the third-choice option.
His first appearance for the Magpies came in one of Newcastle’s biggest games in recent years – the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United.
With Nick Pope injured and Martin Dubravka cup-tied after his loan to Old Trafford, Howe had no option but to start Karius in the 2-0 Wembley defeat.
It was Karius’ first match since that Champions League final in 2018, but the German shot-stopper ended up making eight saves during the match.
Karius only made one more appearance – in a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in February – before he was released by the club this summer.
Loris Karius suggested for shock Barcelona move
After leaving St James’ Park this summer, Karius is yet to find a new club and remains a free agent.
Remarkably, his patience could land him a move to a European giant in the shape of Barcelona.
The La Liga giants find themselves needing an emergency goalkeeper option after first-choice Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a serious knee injury.
Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo have suggested that Karius is one of the options that could be considered by Barcelona manager Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco as they monitor short-term solutions.
Barcelona still have 25-year-old Inaki Pena as a back-up option but they may opt for a more senior goalkeeping solution and they could turn to Karius just weeks after his Newcastle exit.
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