Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have decided to extend Joel Matip’s contract by an additional year after being impressed by the defender.
The 28-year-old moved to Anfield from Schalke in 2016 on a free transfer and has gone on to make 103 appearances in all competitions.
The German-born Cameroon international made 31 outings in total last season, and impressed the club enough to earn the extension.
The Athletic report that the club had the right to do so as a clause in his original contract, and he is now set to remain on Merseyside until the summer of 2021.
Ex-Liverpool striker Michael Owen gave his thoughts on the central defender last month, and claimed that Klopp doesn’t see him as part of his long-term first-team plans.
“Make no mistake, Joe Gomez, Jurgen Klopp wants to have Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk as his centre-half pairing, that’s what he sees,” Owen told Premier League Productions.
“But over the last season or so, Matip has just, you can’t hardly drop him, if you do you’re resting him and bringing him straight back in.
“So full marks to Matip, I mean he’s been absolutely brilliant.
“Last season in the Champions League he was brilliant and the Premier League as well.
“He’s just turned over a new leaf in the last season or so.”
Matip spoke to the press after Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Arsenal win August in which he scored the opening goal, and he made scoring more often his main target.
“I hope it’s the beginning of [more] goals,” he told Sky Sports.
“I’m happy that I could score. [It was] a good cross and I hope next week maybe another one will be there.
“If you give a team like Arsenal space up front it will be really difficult.
“We tried to keep the ball and try and try, that was the main [thing] we had to do today.
“After three games it doesn’t say too much. [But] we’re happy that we won the first three matches and now we’re looking forward to Burnley.”