Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes
the signing of Joel Matip on a free transfer has saved the club millions in their
search for a commanding centre-back.
The Cameroon international has agreed
to move to Anfield when his contract with Schalke expires in the summer and
the Reds boss believes their swift action has landed them a top-quality player.
Klopp said only Germany's top four
clubs would have been able to afford the defender, who has a Cameroonian father
and German mother, but the player's desire for a new challenge outside the
country of his birth played into their hands.
"It is clear there were a lot of
other clubs [interested]. In Germany a player of this quality without a
contract is really rare," said Klopp.
"Schalke are a big club; they
played the last four or five years in the Champions League and they made big
offers to keep this player.
"We have maybe four clubs who can
get a player like Matip when he is at Schalke - only Borussia Dortmund,
although that is not possible (as their arch-rivals), Bayern obviously, maybe
Leverkusen and maybe Wolfsburg.
"The rest have no chance. Then you
think about other countries and we were early enough. He was an easy choice.
"I know in England it is difficult
to bring in a player without paying a transfer fee but I thought it should not
be a reason not to take him only because you cannot write a number behind his
name.
"Ask in Germany what other clubs
would have paid for him and whether there would have been a contract
[offer]."
Matip has made almost 250 appearances
for Schalke since his debut in 2009 and has played 44 times in Europe, of which
28 were in the Champions League.
Klopp believes he has bought a
centre-back ready-made for the Premier League who can help provide a solution
to their defensive weaknesses which have been exposed so many times this season.
"He is a high-quality centre-half.
You cannot play in a club like Schalke for six years always in the starting
line-up without having big quality," he added.
"He made big steps in his
development in the last few years and became a really experienced centre-half:
tall - 198cms - but flexible and quick.
"He is a perfect header and makes
four or five goals per season.
"For him it is good because he
knows I know him and it is not coincidence or that he comes here and finds a
manager he has to show special things to.
"He has to work and improve of
course but it is a really good base and he can be a really good centre-half in
the Premier League."
Matip is Klopp's second signing after
the capture of Red Star Belgrade youngster Marko Grujic, who will also join at
the end of the season.
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