There were emotional scenes at Anfield on the final day of the season as Jürgen Klopp said his goodbyes. But Liverpool was really waving off two legends.
Although the focus was rightly on Klopp for most of the day, Joël Matip goes down as one of his best signings, and he too was signing off. He has been at Liverpool for almost as long, but departs at the end of his deal.
Matip has been out since December with an injury sustained against Fulham. But having neared fitness towards the end of the campaign, it’s now thought that he is eyeing up a move that would see him stay in the Premier League.
According to the Express, Matip ‘remains confident in his ability to regain full fitness and meet the demands of English football’. And he could be given the opportunity to extend his Premier League stay at Bournemouth.
The Cherries are expected to lose Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer, with Newcastle among the most interested parties. And Bournemouth could seek to replace him with Matip.
That move would see Matip link up with a former Liverpool teammate. Dominic Solanke was at Anfield between 2017 and 2019, but left for Bournemouth after failing to cement a spot leading the line for Klopp.
Solanke has gone from strength to strength since moving to the south coast, and finished joint-fourth in the Golden Boot standings this season, one goal ahead of Mohamed Salah. Matip would also be passing Richard Hughes on his way out, with the 44-year-old leaving Bournemouth to become sporting director at Liverpool.
Liverpool.com says: Matip is certainly still up to a Premier League standard once he regains fitness. After all, he was a fixture in the Liverpool defense at the start of the campaign, with only injury seeing him lose his place.
Bournemouth would be gambling on Matip’s fitness, especially after such a long time out, but the defender has a remarkable track record of overcoming setbacks. He has been written off at Liverpool on numerous occasions, and while his chapter at Anfield has now come to an end, he leaves having proved doubters wrong time and time again.
It would be strange for Liverpool to come up against Matip at another team. But we wish him the very best with his next career step, wherever that may take him.
