New signing Loris Karius will wear the No.1 jersey at Liverpool next season.
The goalkeeper joined from Mainz on a long-term contract on Tuesday, and Liverpool have now confirmed on their official website that he will take on the significant squad number.
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This might usually be a bad sign for Simon Mignolet, who wears the No. 22 at Anfield, as it indicates that Karius has been recruited to be Jurgen Klopp’s first-choice stopper for next season.
However, the No.1 jersey at Liverpool has a sketchy recent past. It was vacant last term after the release of Brad Jones, and was previously held by Diego Cavalieri, who only played once for the Reds.
In-fact, Liverpool’s number-one goalkeeper has not worn the shirt which traditional befits that status since Jerzy Dudek in the 2004-05 season. The hero of Istanbul had the squad number until 2006-07, but Pepe Reina had arrived to establish himself as first choice between the posts by then.
So Mignolet should not be overly worried by 22-year-old Karius, who BBC Sport reports cost the Reds £4.7m, being given the No.1 shirt. It has meant little at Liverpool for over a decade.
And the Belgian, who has endured an inconsistent spell on Merseyside, will have the first chance to stake his claim because Karius will miss the first three weeks of the 2016-17 Premier League campaign while he is representing Germany at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, according to Sky Sports.
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