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Loris Karius will have the chance to stake a claim to be Liverpool No 1 when he makes his debut against Derby County on Tuesday night.

The £4.7million summer signing from Mainz will replace Simon Mignolet for the EFL Cup third round tie at the iPro Stadium.

Jurgen Klopp believes the time is right to give some game time to the 23-year-old German shot-stopper, who has been back in full training for a fortnight after six weeks out with a broken hand.

The Reds boss says “there is no No 1 at this moment” and insists he has yet to decide whether Mignolet will be restored to the starting line up for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Hull City at Anfield.

“Yes, if nothing happens, Loris will play,” Klopp said.

“In the moment when we signed him you can imagine we thought he is not so bad.

“He was a really strong Bundesliga goalkeeper. That means a lot. Germany is a goalkeeper country. We have no issue with goalkeepers. The best keeper in the world plays at Bayern Munich and is German. We always had good ones, maybe not always the best in the world, but good ones.

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“The mentality is we like this job. The kids like to wear gloves. It’s good to be in goal for a Bundesliga team at such a young age.

“Loris had a bad start at Mainz, when no-one really wanted him, but he went on to become an outstanding goalkeeper. We wanted him.

Karius is no rookie having clocked up nearly 100 Bundesliga appearances and he was brought in to increase competition for Mignolet’s spot.

The former Manchester City Academy youngster had looked set to start the campaign in goal before he broke a bone in his hand in a pre-season friendly against Chelsea in America.

That setback handed Mignolet the initiative and the Belgium international has impressed during the opening six matches of the season.

“What we want is two really strong goalkeepers and that is what I think we have got,” Klopp added.

“Loris had an advantage in pre-season and he could not use it because of the injury. Simon came in this moment back from the national team and did a brilliant job.

“I really don’t want to make a big battle of these two goalkeepers, why should I? Goalkeepers need to feel secure but you can’t play your whole life as a keeper without conceding goals.

“You will always feel a bit guilty, more or less. But you need a manager who will say you can still stay and feel confident. I can’t say ‘today, him and then today him’. The pressure on the players is big enough.

“I don’t have to make any more, they have to do their best and then when I have a feeling for something I will change or not. It is not because we paid money for Loris and did not pay money last year for Simon that I make the decision.

“It is all about what I see in training, and what I see is two very good goalkeepers and another very good goalkeeper for the future (Danny Ward) who we gave to Huddersfield. The business is done. We don’t need to talk about this position. Now the boys have to perform.”

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Mignolet has been the club’s first choice keeper since his £9million move from Sunderland three years ago. He was also rested for the opening rounds of the League Cup last season with Adam Bogdan deputising against Carlisle, Bournemouth and Southampton.

Asked if Mignolet would start against Hull on Saturday, Klopp said: “Where is my possibility to answer?

“When I say ‘yes’ what does it mean for Loris? If I say ‘no’ what does it mean for Simon?

“This question makes sense but the answer would not. There is no No 1 at this moment. There is no decision to make.

“It is just about performing and showing how good you are. For all the other players it is the same. I won’t say someone is our centre-half for the next 15 months.

“It is about performing and improving - showing how much you can help the team.”