John Aldridge has claimed that the time has come for Liverpool to sell Joel Matip.
The Cameroon defender returned to the first XI for Thursday night’s 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
But Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was forced to take him off at half time, later revealing that he has suffered ankle ligament damage and now he’s facing at least a four-week layoff.
Injuries have made Matip yo-yo in and out of the treatment room quite a lot this season and it seems like he is literally broken down again every other week.
With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez out with long-term knee injuries, never before have Liverpool needed him to stay fit as much as they did this season, but the former Schalke powerhouse – who earns £100,000 per week on Merseyside – seems unable to secure an extended run in the first team.
The 29-year-old also only managed nine Premier League appearances under Klopp last season. And Aldridge, writing in The Sunday World, believes it’s time for Liverpool to cut him loose.
He said: “Harsh as this might sound, Liverpool may need to move on from him now. He is a decent defender and when he is fit, he has been a great player over the last couple of years, but his body just won’t stand up to the rigours of the Premier League.”
As Aldridge says himself, it’s harsh, but it also might be true and Klopp might know it.
Matip has been a brilliant defender for Liverpool down the years, particularly when they won the Champions League in 2019.
But he simply cannot be relied upon and when you reach that stage, it’s curtains.
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