Oh boy, where do we begin? Liverpool’s second pre-season game did go as planned as we came out 3-2 winners. A number of players got important game-time under their belts and we even saw Fabinho and Naby Keita take the field.
All good, right? Well, there was this slight issue of Loris Karius spilling a free-kick which led to a goal for Tranmere Rovers.
Now, we won’t get into the detail or blast the keeper for the mistake. Jurgen Klopp came out and defended Karius by stating that everyone makes mistakes and well, the media seems to be magnifying every single mistake made by the former Mainz keeper.
That is true. We don’t see almost every media outlet wait for a miss from Neymar, Philippe Coutinho or Roberto Firmino when they play for their clubs (was just listing out a few names off the top of my mind).
Liverpool will not reportedly be looking at a new goalkeeper this season and we might give Danny Ward a chance to prove himself. A brilliant move I’d say!
Time to shine for Danny boy
The Welsh keeper played just one game for us last season, a League Cup match, and that is criminal from our point of view given that both Simon Mignolet and Karius were having a competition to drop their respective starting places.
Look at it this way; Ward was a decent keeper for Huddersfield and he helped them to the Premier League.
He should have been sent out on loan last season when we were not willing to give him a shot at playing in the Premier League, as that would have helped him gain valuable experience.
The Welshman is of the same age as Karius, so he has time to develop and he surely is not any worse than either the German keeper or Mignolet.
Alright, so there are a few things going against him. He isn’t a big money signing for the keeper’s position and hasn’t ever played in the Premier League. Well, neither have Alisson or Jan Oblak and there is no guarantee the pair would be the solution to our problems.
Yes, they have had great seasons for their respective clubs but even David de Gea struggled in his first two years at Manchester United.
The Welshman might just be a surprise in the earlier stages of the campaign and he would even save Karius from the line of fire that the opposition, fans and players will prepare for him.
As with the case of Andy Robertson, Ward isn’t flashy, he isn’t someone who speaks a lot and isn’t the jersey that you would want to sport.
Read more: Klopp’s top priority is to sign a versatile attacking midfielder according to Mirror journalist
But he will work for the team and could certainly do a good job. Ward’s confidence could shoot up if he is given a chance to prove himself and who knows, we might unearth another hidden star at the club without breaking the bank.
