Liverpool are being linked to former Real Madrid star Iker Casillas. According to reports, Casillas is not keen on signing a new contract with Porto which is expiring on June 30. It was expected that after his stint at the Portuguese club, Casillas will play out the fag end of his career at either China or America. But a Liverpool interest can certainly provide him one more chance to showcase his ability at the top level once again.
Casillas, who was once a part of the Galacticos, has seen his career go down since the Mourinho era at Real Madrid ended. In his later stages at Real Madrid, Casillas became much more error-prone and he was relegated to being the second choice goalkeeper with Diego Lopez being preferred over him. The 35-year-old joined Porto from Real Madrid in 2015 after spending almost 20 years at the Bernabeu where he had an illustrious career winning the La Liga title 5 times, Fifa Club World Cup once, the Spanish Cup twice and the Champions League three times.
Once at Porto, it was assumed that he would be able to resurrect his career as he will get regular chances to play but after some average performances in the Porto shirt, he was benched, handing the number one position to the young Portuguese goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Liverpool, who have been criticized throughout the season for their defensive problems and goalkeeping issues, can look up to the experienced Spanish international for some sort of backup in the goalkeeping department. At the beginning of the season, Klopp was using both Mignolet and Karius in various competitions. But as the season progressed Karius has become the first choice starter for the club and has made some crucial saves in recent games.
Iker Casillas, who recently played at Anfield against Liverpool and managed to keep a clean sheet in the second leg tie of the Champions League, got a boisterous reception from the Anfield faithful at the end of the game.
It will be important to see whether Klopp goes for Casillas who certainly isn’t at his best as he isn’t even assured a start in the current Porto team. With Karius grabbing the number one spot, Klopp would want someone who can challenge Karius for the spot. But Casillas could still be a good addition to the Merseyside outfit as his plethora of experience can help Liverpool in the next season.
