Loris Karius addresses Newcastle United future amid Inter Milan links – talks expected

Competitive debuts don’t come much bigger than cup finals as the 29-year-old was thrust into the spotlight for Newcastle for what would be his first appearance for a English club since the 2018 Champions League final with Liverpool.

There were obviously question marks around Karius ahead of the game given how long it had been since he had last featured in a competitive match. Despite conceding twice, the German more than held his own as he made eight saves in total.

Karius signed a short-term deal at Newcastle in September following his release from Liverpool before extending his stay to the end of the 2022-23 campaign. As it stands, he is out of contract in the summer.

"Whatever is to come, I don't know right now,” Karius said when asked about his future. "I'm still hungry and I feel like I've still got a lot of years to play and I've shown [against Manchester United] that I don't need to hide anything and that I can still perform at this level."

Liverpool goalkeeper coach John Achterberg told the Newcastle goalkeeper on Instagram that he had put himself ‘back on the map with a top performance’. And Karius has quickly been linked with Serie A giants Inter Milan over a potential free transfer, according to sources in Italy.

When asked about his contract situation, Karius responded: “Right now it's to the summer and we'll see. We'll sit together, there is no need for it at this moment yet.

"We've got a lot of goalkeepers at the club and the group is really good quality-wise, there's not a lot of clubs who have that many quality goalkeepers so we will see. That's not on my mind right now.”

Karius is one of five senior goalkeepers currently on the books at Newcastle. Nick Pope is first choice ahead of Martin Dubravka and Karius while Mark Gillespie, who is also out of contract in the summer, returned to The Magpies’ 25-man Premier League squad following Karl Darlow's deadline day loan to Hull City.