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The battle lines have been drawn.

On Sunday, Jurgen Klopp gave the clearest indication yet that the race for the No.1 jersey at Liverpool has gone the way of Loris Karius.

And on Tuesday, Simon Mignolet gave a rather public hint that his future may lie away from Anfield.

Mignolet is not one for 'explosive' interviews, so when he tells Belgian media that “I must think of my own future” and that “this situation cannot take too long,” you know something has changed.

Within hours he'd been linked with a move away, with Napoli the first suitors suggested.

(Image: (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))

Klopp's decision to start Karius against Manchester City was a significant one, the moment the balance of power shifted. The manager's comments told us that.

“Usually I could say it's a decision for today,” he told Sky. “But if Loris now is able to perform, he will stay in the goal."

The question, then, is what happens now. Karius was not without fault against City, but will almost certainly keep his place for the trip to Swansea on Monday evening.

For him, the challenge is clear; perform. Cut out the mistakes, and he renders the debate meaningless. Continue with the shaky performances we have seen from him so far, and the discussion will go on.

(Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)

Mignolet, meanwhile, must wait and hope. A flawless professional, a conscientious trainer and a solid, decent character, the 30-year-old knows that these are crucial times. He's responded well to adversity in the past, but this feels different. This feels like it could be the beginning of the end.

Klopp, it is abundantly clear, doesn't trust Mignolet to be his long-term No.1. Karius will get the chance to show he can be, but he is yet to convince. Plenty would rather the Belgian than the German, at this stage.

And so this summer becomes critical. Liverpool need to sign a goalkeeper, and they need to sign a top class one.

(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Klopp's preference, we know, is for breathless attacking football, but the capture of Virgil van Dijk shows there is an acceptance that the back door needs locking too. Liverpool should be similarly aggressive in their recruitment of a new 'keeper; pick the one you want and go and get him.

It's not an easy task. Genuine top-class goalkeepers are not freely available, generally, and those with the potential to be top class don't come cheap.

But if Liverpool are serious about building a winning team – and they're closer than many think to having that – then a big call must be made, whatever the cost. Treat the new 'keeper as you would a new centre forward or No.10; spend big and go for the best.

Whether that's Alisson of Roma, the brilliant Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid or someone else – Gigio Donnarumma of Milan, for example – Liverpool should be ready to go for the jugular, the transfer market equivalent of gegenpressing, you could say.

The difference between a decent shot-stopper and an excellent one is significant – David De Gea is more important to Manchester United than Romelu Lukaku, for example. Liverpool have made do for long enough.

Under Klopp, as they are, the Reds are close enough to smell silverware; a new, top quality No.1 could get them touching it.