Joel Matip has reportedly agreed terms to join Liverpool as a free agent in the summer and will complete a transfer to Anfield when his deal with Schalke expires.

According to Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport (h/t Jamie Sanderson of Metro,) the deal is “done and dusted,” after the defender decided he would not stay in the Bundesliga. Matip turned down interest from other teams in order to link up with Reds coach Jurgen Klopp and start a new challenge in the Premier League. 

Schalke had hoped the player would remain at the Veltins-Arena after Liverpool pursued Matip through January, and former team-mate Christoph Metzelder was quoted by the Telegraph (h/t the Independent‘s Sam Hall), urging his former defensive colleague to make the jump to England.

“Joel is free. If the interest is from England and he wants to have an experience abroad, then Liverpool is a super destination for him,” said Metzelder. “Jurgen [Klopp] knows he can work very well with him. For Joel it would be an easier entry into a new country and a new environment.”

According to Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports News, his colleagues in Germany reported Liverpool made a bid for the Cameroon international in January, attempting to grab him early for use this season:

As a free transfer, Matip will be a sensational addition to Klopp’s squad, bringing experience and knowledge to a Liverpool back line fraught with problems and frailties.

The centre-back has made 179 Bundesliga appearances over his seven campaigns in the Schalke first team, according to WhoScored.com and is built for life in the top division in England. 

His arrival will surely mean the end for one of Liverpool’s current centre-backs, as Matip claims one of the two central berths in the back four. 

In other news, Liverpool reportedly had a £22.7 million bid for Inter Milan attacker Mauro Icardi rejected on the final day of the January transfer window. 

Italian outlet Corriere della Serra (Liam Corless of the Mirror) said the Nerazzurri turned down the offer, as they could not find a suitable replacement in time, as the clock counted down to the window slamming shut. 

Icardi would have been a diverse and dangerous signing for Klopp, and the evaporation of his relationship with Inter boss Roberto Mancini might have pushed him into Liverpool’s arms, per Corless.

Klopp equally needs to find a balanced attack as much as he desires a reliable defence, and Icardi has been a regular goalscorer in Serie A. 

Matip is an excellent building block for the Reds to start a summer of reconstruction, allowing Klopp to bring in a host of faces that are more familiar to him.

The German is well aware of Matip’s talents and limitations, having faced him many times in the Bundesliga, and the 24-year-old will add an intelligence that is currently not present in the back four at Anfield.

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