Joel Matip: Liverpool’s Bargain Defensive Signing Set for a Standout 2016-17

Becoming the third signing of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool reign back in February, Cameroon international defender Joel Matip represented something of a change in emphasis from the German—as in sealing his free transfer from Bundesliga side Schalke 04, the Reds manager made the first significant alteration to his new squad.

Matip’s arrival followed a move to bring Steven Caulker to the club on a short-term loan and a deal to sign Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic for £5.1 million, with the former little more than emergency and the latter representing one for the future.

Also signalling the departures of long-serving centre-back Martin Skrtel and veteran Kolo Toure, who joined Fenerbahce and Celtic respectively this summer, Matip’s acquisition presented a changing of the guard.

After his pre-season was stalled by a frustrating ankle injury, Matip made his Premier League debut in the Reds’ third outing of 2016/17—last weekend’s 1-1 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur.

Now looking to establish himself as a key player within Klopp’s defensive line, Matip can hope to build on that performance—with his full debut coming days earlier, in Liverpool’s 5-0 win at Burton Albion in the EFL Cup—and on the early evidence, the 25-year-old has all the tools to do so.

Matip is poised to enjoy a breakthrough campaign on Merseyside in 2016/17 and could prove to be one of the bargains of the summer across England’s top flight. 

Though Caulker was likely the best of the short-term options available to Klopp at centre-back in January, and interest in Grujic was largely propelled by the 49-year-old’s assistant Zeljko Buvac, according to the Liverpool Echo’s James Pearce, Matip was a player the manager was already familiar with.

Matip joined Schalke from VfL Bochum in 2000, and after nine years progressing through the academy ranks to follow in the footsteps of Mesut Ozil, Manuel Neuer and Benedikt Howedes, he swiftly established himself as a key player in Gelsenkirchen.

This saw him line up regularly against Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund, making 10 appearances for Schalke in the Revierderby, notably scoring the opener in a 2-1 victory towards the start of the 2014/15 campaign.

Share Tweet

Defeat to Schalke heaped pressure on Klopp as he led his side through a disappointing start to his final season at Dortmund, with DW.com’s Jonathan Harding describing the BVB’s defensive display as “more like Sunday league than Sunday best.”

Matip amassed 258 senior appearances over seven seasons in the Schalke first team, …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com