Joel Matip’s injury has seemingly changed the transfer landscape at Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp claiming that the club will now try to sign a centre-back, and one name that has once again cropped up is Sven Botman.
The 21-year-old is certainly an exciting talent, but as we know, he won’t come cheaply, with Lille’s former Sporting Director claiming that Lille don’t need to sell in January and it will cost any team that wants Botman a lot of money
“I do not forsee that there will be transfers in January, with the value of debt of Victor Osimhen. Botman is a player with a big potential, I believe next season he will play in the highest level, but economically, this is not the time for this sort of price, like Victor Osimhen,” Luis Campos said on the Transfer Window Podcast.
However, that seemingly hasn’t deterred Liverpool from trying, and if he does join the Anfield outfit, that may change Matip’s role for good.
Liverpool aren’t going to pay big money for Botman just for him to rot on the bench, and with Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk still ahead of Matip in the pecking order, he may have to settle for a much-reduced role going forward.
Matip has proven himself to be rather unreliable this season, consistently getting injured at important junctures, and with Fabinho proving himself to be a competent centre-half, Matip could soon find himself being fifth-choice.
At the beginning of the season Matip was undoubtedly Liverpool’s third-choice, but if Botman comes in and Fabinho continues to perform he could find himself well and truly out of favour.
This isn’t a knock on his ability at all, Matip is fantastic at times when he does play, but his inability to stay fit and his advancing years are becoming a persistent problem for the Reds.
This latest problem may force Liverpool’s hand into signing a centre-back, and if the reports about Botman are true, it could have a permanent impact on Matip’s role at Anfield.
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