Liverpool FC Transfer News: Matip to Decide Future by End of Week

Signing things is hard work. Or at least seems to be in the case of Joel Matip, who has been free to sign a pre-contract with Liverpool since the start of January but has been rumoured to have been stuck for a month now deciding between staying at Schalke a little longer or making the move to England.

Shortly after the close of the transfer window, reports claimed the 24-year-old Cameroonian international had made his choice: he had chosen Liverpool and would seal the agreement within the week. That week was last week, and obviously Mapip hasn’t signed on to become a Liverpool player in the summer just yet.

This week, though? He could certainly sign things this week. Half the English press seem to think he’s going to—though as yet, no journalists with reliable ties to Liverpool Football Club are reporting it as anything more than something those other guys are saying. Still, at least this time we only have until Friday to find out.

And then if he hasn’t signed on Friday we might have until the end of the weekend, and if he doesn’t sign by the end of the weekend we’ll have until next Friday to wait to learn if Matip has chosen Germany or England for his next four years or thereabouts. Even when the transfer window closes, the fun never stops.

Matip was born in Bochum to a German mother and Cameroonian father and began his career with the local side. He joined Schalke’s academy when he was just ten years old and spent most of a decade there before breaking through to the first team in 2009. Since then, he has made 244 appearances for the club.

While the appeal of the Premier League—and its money—might be a strong draw for most players, it’s clear Matip is struggling with the decision of whether to abandon the club he grew up at, and even more than that to leave them on a free transfer that would deprive Schalke of any kind of a financial recompense.