Joel Matip next club update as former Liverpool star places sides on 'red alert'

Joel Matip of Liverpool during a training session
-Credit: (Image: 2023 Liverpool FC)


Former Liverpool defender Joel Matip is reportedly weighing up offers from Premier League clubs and other European sides as he seeks his next move within the game. The centre-back is currently without a club having left Liverpool at the end of last season following nine years of service, though could soon mark his return to action.

A latest report from The Mirror has indicated the 33-year-old has "attracted interest" from Fulham, Bournemouth and West Ham United and is "favouring a return" to England. It is said the 2019 Champions League winner is searching for a two-year deal, as opposed to a short-term contract, which has placed some overseas clubs on "red alert" as they look to strike a deal for his services.

Bayer Leverkusen are listed as one club outside of England considering putting forward an offer for the free agent, though it remains to be seen just where the ex-Cameroon international ends up.

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Matip was a hugely popular figure during his near ten-year spell on Merseyside, during which period he helped the club to success both domestically and on the European stage. Injuries derailed the progress of the defender on numerous occasions, though he remained a valuable asset to Jurgen Klopp.

Paying tribute to the former Schalke star prior to his exit, Klopp remarked: “In all the years that I have been involved in football, I am not sure I have come across too many players who are more loved than Joel Matip. I’m not even sure it would be possible to say anything bad about him.

“A wonderful professional, a wonderful footballer and a wonderful human being – we have been blessed to have him with us for as long as we have and now all we can do is wish him well as he heads off in a new direction.

“Joel’s qualities as a player are there for all to see and as a club, we have benefited from them since the first moment that he joined. I don’t think he has had too many headlines over the years but he has only ever been a very famous figure within our group.

“I have said before that if there was one person who wouldn’t care if he was underrated it would be Joel, but the truth is we could not have rated him more highly. Not only has he set the standards for himself, he has set them for others and this is one of the main reasons why his time here has been so successful.”