Newcastle have found their very own 'mentality monster' in former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius after the German made his debut on Thursday for the Magpies in a 5-0 win over Al Hilal.
Karius joined Newcastle in September on a short-term deal, but manager Eddie Howe is keen to extend his contract after his attitude and performances in training were praised.
The 29-year-old has had to slowly rebuild his career after his performance in the 2018 Champions League final for Liverpool against Real Madrid made him the subject of jokes for rival fans.
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Karius' errors allowed Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale to score in the 3-1 loss in Kyiv. Jurgen Klopp then splashed £65 million on Alisson Becker as the Reds went on to win the competition a year later.
It was later revealed Karius had suffered concussion during the Champions League final, but the match had already had a devastating effect on the German.
"Loris works a lot on his mental situation," Karius's agent Corey Anton told ChronicleLive. "Not to forget about it, but to put a check on that situation that happened a few years ago is quite hard.
"You have to work on it. You have to accept it and make clear that you want to kickstart your career from that point because that's in the past. You can't change it. You're still responsible but you can't make it unhappen.
"He worked a lot on his mental situation and he's a mentality monster. He's super confident. He knows his own value but he also knows he has to prove that because a lot of people, when they think of Loris Karius, they think about the Champions League final. Now he is strong enough, combined with the physical situation, to prove he is capable and able to perform at a top level."
Nick Pope remains Newcastle's number one after his signing from Burnley, but after Karl Darlow's injury, Karius was brought in and has been given another crack at the Premier League.
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