Newcastle United ace's girlfriend 'hoping' for St James' Park exit

The girlfriend of Loris Karius hopes the Newcastle United goalkeeper can move closer to Italy in the near future.

Diletta Leotta, a famous TV presenter in Italy, lives in Milan with the pair's young daughter Arian. Karius currently splits his time between Newcastle and Leotta's homeland.

The former Liverpool man is under contract at St James' Park until the end of the campaign and Leotta hopes an opportunity to join a Serie A club arises.

"I hope so," she told Gazzetta Dello Sport "He has another year on his contract and is fine at Newcastle, but whoever does this job always has his suitcase packed. I would understand any move, but I hope he can get closer.

"He takes a lot of planes. As soon as he has a day he leaves and even comes for just 24 hours." 

Indeed, this is not the first time Leotta has revealed her hopes of Karius moving to Italy. Speaking in June, she said: "Newcastle is very uncomfortable because there are no direct flights, neither via Paris nor via Amsterdam.

"Do I hope he can come to Italy? Selfishly, yes, but from a sporting point of view, I wish him the best."

Karius is on standby for only his second Newcastle appearance when AC Milan visit Tyneside in the Champions League this evening.

Martin Dubravka, deputising for No.1 Nick Pope, has been hit by illness, meaning Newcastle will need to make a late check on the Slovakian's fitness.

Karius started the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester United at Wembley in February and hasn't played in the Champions League since that infamous final in 2018, where his two mistakes cost Liverpool against Real Madrid.