Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has stated that Joel Matip is one of his best signings at the club following the Cameroonian’s emergence as a regular at center-back this season.
Matip joined Liverpool back in the summer of 2016 having come through the ranks at German side Schalke, where he was a first-team starter as young as 18 years of age.
The 28-year-old Matip made 49 Premier League starts across his first two campaigns in England’s top flight but often found himself out of the first team as Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez offered stiff competition.
However, this season Matip has played in all but one of Liverpool’s six Premier League games, firmly establishing himself as the first-choice partner of Virgil van Dijk in the heart of Liverpool’s backline after impressing towards the back end of last season.
Matip has become one of Liverpool’s best defenders this season and Klopp has addressed the fact that his arrival at Anfield on a free transfer was one of the best bits of business he has done at the Merseyside outfit.
While speaking to reporters the 52-year-old Klopp explained that Matip was always a great talent but to land him on a free transfer was an absolute steal, “Joel was always an incredible talent, He played as an 18-year-old boy for Schalke in the Bundesliga. It’s maybe not such a respected league in England, but it’s a strong league and he played there and was always a standout player, a fixed point in defense. Yes, he lacked a little bit of consistency, that can happen especially with his physical stature. I’m also tall, we [tall people] don’t always look sensational when we move, but he grew and developed. In a world of big transfer fees, to sign a player like Joel Matip on a free transfer is incredible. It was maybe one of the best pieces of business we did in the last few years.”
