John Aldridge believes that Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius could benefit from some time on the bench.
The 23-year-old has come under severe criticism this season after a number of mistakes and several people are calling for Simon Mignolet to be recalled to the starting line up.
Karius moved to Anfield in the summer transfer window from German club Mainz and was recruited to become the club’s number one goalkeeper.
He was blamed for a narrow 4-3 defeat against Bournemouth in the Premier League after spilling a shot and was criticised for his performance in the 2-2 draw against West Ham on Sunday.
Ex-Liverpool striker Aldridge claims that manager Jurgen Klopp may have to withdraw Karius from the starting XI and allow him to rebuild his confidence.
“Goalkeeper is such a specialist position, if you can’t quite settle in and you’ve made a couple of mistakes, then sometimes you need to be taken out of the firing line,” Aldridge wrote in the Echo. “It’s not for me to say, it’s for Jurgen Klopp to notice that and decide if it’s right or not. I don’t know.
“Sometimes it happens and you can come again, you have a break, settle down and regain your confidence and show how good a keeper you are.”
Karius has endured a torrid start to his career in English football, but is regarded as one of the best young goalkeepers in Europe for his performances in recent seasons.
The German made 96 appearances for Mainz and kept an impressive 32 clean sheets in that time.
Klopp could be tempted to alternate his goalkeepers during a busy fixture list of December, with four games still to play in the month.
Liverpool face Middlesbrough, Everton, Stoke and Manchester City in the Premier League and will want to bridge the six-point gap to league leaders Chelsea.
