Report: Liverpool close to completing signing of Mainz's Loris Karius

Simon Mignolet is reportedly set for some competition between the posts.

Liverpool is close to signing Loris Karius, FSV Mainz 05's first-choice 'keeper, in a deal worth around £4.7 million, according to Andy Hunter of the Guardian. Jurgen Klopp apparently wants to increase the competition for Mignolet next season and talks between the two clubs have allegedly progressed far enough that the transfer could be completed by next week.

Hunter's report comes one day after Liverpool suffered heartbreak in the final of the Europa League, falling 3-1 to Sevilla in Klopp's fifth straight defeat in the final of a competition.

Related: Liverpool lacks the chops as Klopp laments finals flop

Karius, 22, appeared in all 34 of Mainz's Bundesliga fixtures last season and helped the club to a sixth-place finish that saw Martin Schmidt's side qualify for the 2016-17 Europa League's group stage.

To say that Karius is a coloruful character would be an understatement. According to the Liverpool Echo's David Prentice, the German 'keeper knows Justin Bieber's phone number, keeps in touch with Mario Balotelli, and has a father who would have preferred his son become a motocross rider.

Klopp's managerial career kicked off at Mainz. He managed the club between 2001 and 2008, during which time he achieved its first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga.