This summer, the former Liverpool defender is free to sign with another team.
It is said that Fulham and Everton have little chance of surpassing German champions Bayer Leverkusen in order to sign Joel Matip, a former Liverpool defender who was released from Anfield this summer.
Kicker, a German publication, reports that Xabi Alonso’s team believes the experienced centre-back is ‘not a threat’ despite the Cottagers and Toffees targeting him. Matip has ended his eight-year tenure on Merseyside and is now free to join another team.
Due to the departure of star player Tosin Adarabioyo for Premier League rivals Chelsea at the end of his contract at Craven Cottage, Fulham has been searching for a centre defender this summer. Over the weekend, Marco Silva expanded his Villarreal options to include Jorge Cuenca; but, US veteran Tim Ream has since left the team as well.
However, if the London outfit are going to add another defender to their ranks, it’s looking as if won’t be Matip. Bayer Leverkusen risk losing Jonathan Tah to Bayern Munich this summer but are confident that acquiring Matip is an easy deal to complete if that does happen.
The former Schalke man won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup during his time at Liverpool. Matip made 14 appearances in all competitions last term as he struggled with a cruciate ligament tear for a large part of the campaign.
“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,” former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stated in a statement when he was leaving the team this summer. It’s doubtful if anything negative could be said 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.”
