Matip will be a good signing for you, if he can organise a defence him and Lovren will form a good partnership
It will be interesting to see what attacking midfielder we go for. Without Coutinho, we have zero link play and no flair. It was clear Klopp thinks we need one too when going for Teixeira in January.
Offers a presence in the air too. Both ends. Little stat about him I read today; he averages a goal every ten games.
A new GK, new proper temp controlling CM (Alonso/Kroos/Fabregas type) and a creative forward. Sign 3 big players to go with Grujic & Matip and job done for the summer. Don't go fannying around with 20 new players!
Yep, he is a good player, and like I say will get the best out of Lovren (like Fonte did). No more calamity defending from August
Matip has made 176 Bundesliga appearances for Schalke over seven seasons to date, scoring 16 goals and assisting on a further 10. Quite impressive for a CH (though he has played midfield as well).
http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/207339-10-interesting-facts-about-reds-signing-joel-matip Find out more about Joel Matip, who has today confirmed he will join Liverpool from Schalke 04 this summer, with our ten interesting facts below. Matip stands at an impressive 6'4, making him taller than any current member of the Liverpool squad. The defender made a goalscoring Bundesliga debut in a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich at the age of just 18 in 2009. The 24-year-old was born in Germany but opted to represent Cameroon, his father's country, at international level. Matip's older brother, Marvin, later also played for the Indomitable Lions, while the pair's cousin Joseph-Desire Job picked up 52 Cameroon caps between 1998 and 2011. He will become the second Cameroon international to represent the Reds in the Barclays Premier League after Rigobert Song. Over the course of his 244 appearances for Schalke, the centre-back has averaged a goal every 10 games. Matip helped the Gelsenkirchen club win the DFB-Pokal in 2011 before kickstarting the next season by clinching the DFL-Supercup with victory over Jürgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund on penalties. Along with scoring three goals this season, Matip has provided three assists despite having featured solely in defence. He becomes Klopp's third signing for the Reds after the capture of Marko Grujic from Red Star Belgrade and Steven Caulker on loan from QPR. Matip received the only red card of his career in a Europa League clash with FC Twente in March 2012, though the decision was eventually overturned on appeal.
@Dozzle What's the view on Matip from Germany then? Think I remember you saying you weren't keen when we were linked earlier in the season?
You guys really have been starved of good signings. So much research and excitement going into a freebie signing and your freebie signing record has been fairly tragic recently: bogdan milner toure doni bellamy cole aurelio (again) jovanovic maxi degen voronin
Probability suggests one of them must come good at some point! Also Ings is technically a freebie atm is he not?
ah true i should include ings.... he looked alright but you guys are just absolutely clutching onto his 2 goals and that he runs around a lot. He's barely played and its like he's the next best thing because he runs more than benteke.
Seems to be the story when you google it too. But I recall many many reports saying there was a nominal fee of around £2.8m at the time of the signing. Maybe it was a signing on fee?
