Jamie Carragher has suggested that Liverpool should consider cashing in on Joel Matip this summer if they get an eight-figure offer for him.
The Cameroon international has been at Anfield since 2016 but featured just 21 times for the Reds in all competitions this season (Transfermarkt), with the 31-year-old now into the final 13 months of his £100,000-per-week contract (FBref).
Carragher was speaking to The Redmen TV when he advocated accepting bids of £10m or more for the centre-back, stressing the need for Jurgen Klopp to duly bring in a left-footed option in that position.
The 45-year-old said: “I look at the defence and I think Joel Matip now has got a year to go. If you got £10million, whatever the price may be, it’s probably right to move on.
“I do think we need a left-sided defender, a left-footed centre-back. A lot of teams have them, we don’t. A left-sided player would add something.
“Rather than getting a left-back because I don’t think we will, if we are going to continue with this formation now, (it should be) buying someone in that area, a centre-back who can do the full-back role. I definitely think a left-sided centre-back who can do that left-back job.”
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In some respects, there’s plenty of sense in what Carragher is saying. For starters, Liverpool picked up Matip on a free transfer seven years ago, and this summer represents their final opportunity to reap a fee for him before his contract expires in 2024.
If the Reds can pocket £10m or more (all of it profit) for a 31-year-old who featured sporadically in the season just gone, on the face of it that would appear to be very sensible business.
The Sky Sports pundit is also right to call for the signing of a left-footed centre-back, with all of Klopp’s current options in that part of the pitch stronger on their right (Transfermarkt).
However, with Nathaniel Phillips likely to depart and injuries hounding both Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez this term, Liverpool mustn’t jettison Matip too hastily.
If they are to sanction his sale, it should only be done if a dependable left-footed recruit is brought in first. The Reds cannot leave themselves in a scenario where they let go of a perfectly capable defender and later find themselves down to the bare bones at the back.