While it’s been widely reported that highly rated Schalke 04 defender Joel Matip will end up at Liverpool either this month or in the summer, the German side has other ideas and has outright denied stories seeming to confirm that they’ve already made a deal with the Reds for his services.
With his current deal set to expire in the summer, the 24-year old has been stalling on putting pen to paper with contract talks apparently breaking down several times over the past year as the Gelsenkirchen outfit try to keep him from leaving on a Bosman at the end of the season. Although he’s technically free to negotiate with other clubs, Schlake chairman Clemens Tonnies said that reports claiming Matip had agreed to terms with the Merseyside giants are a “hoax” and that no such agreement is in place.
Back in December the Bundesliga side, who are currently in sixth place and only two points off of fourth placed Borussia Monchengladbach, said that they’d agreed to another round of discussions with Matip and his agent after “good talks” between the two parties, but little has happened since with rumours in the German tabloids fueling speculation that the Cameroonian defender is ready to jump ship after a “positive meeting” with an English side — which, of course, is believed to be Liverpool.
“Then it’ll make sense to have a decision,” said Schalke general manager Horst Heldt back in December when it was announced that they were headed for more talks over the contract impasse. “That’s important for everyone — for Joel and FC Schalke 04,” he continued, but with the rumour mill in full swing, he took to Twitter only yesterday to try to squash the gossip. “I can’t confirm that an agreement has been made with LFC regarding Matip,” said Heldt on their official Twitter account.
