Why Liverpool have given Joel Matip an abnormally long contract

The big news from yesterday was that Cameroonian centre-back Joel Matip, who has established himself as first-choice alongside Virgil van Dijk this season when he is fit, has signed a new long-term contract.

Now 28, signing up for five years is not something that the Reds would normally be quick to sanction, but in this case, an exception has been made for the defender, who arrived from Schalke on a Bosman in 2016.

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Matip has arguably been the club’s best and most in-form defender this season given how well he has performed.

Having had an injury over the last couple of weeks, he is expected to be fit enough to start at Old Trafford tomorrow according to The Metro, which is a huge boost for Jurgen Klopp.

For a spell, it looked like Matip was never going to be a regular for the Reds, either through a series of niggling injuries or simply through his performances looking shaky, but over the last year or so, he has been impeccable.

Now, Reds fans can look forward to another five seasons of watching his marauding runs forward from the back with the ball at his feet.