West Ham makes Joel Matip decision as former Liverpool center-back awaits new club
West Ham appears to have cooled its interest in former Liverpool defender Joel Matip, with HITC Sport reporting that Oumar Solet seems to be higher up on the Hammers' list of free-agent targets.
Matip has been without a club since leaving Liverpool when his contract expired at the end of last season, having spent eight years at Anfield after leaving Schalke in 2016.
West Ham is interested in signing a new center-back, and Solet, 24, is now said to be on its radar after his contract with RB Salzburg was terminated by mutual consent earlier this month.
No official reason was given for the decision for Solet and Salzburg to part ways, but it means a young center-back with decent experience at a high level is now on the market and available for nothing. Matip has held talks with clubs in France and Germany over a potential return to the game, but a deal is yet to be agreed.
A trio of Premier League clubs is said to be 'mulling over' a possible move for Matip, with Fulham, Bournemouth and Wolves all considering a move for Matip. While Matip enjoyed spells of good form at Anfield, injuries restricted his game time and he missed a total of 140 matches due to various ailments across his eight years at the club.
Matip ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in December 2023 - the most serious injury of his career - and did not play for Liverpool again.
Jurgen Klopp praised the defender when it emerged he, like Klopp, would be leaving Anfield at the end of last season. "In all the years that I have been involved in football, I am not sure I have come across too many players who are more loved than Joel Matip," Klopp said. "I’m not even sure it would be possible to say anything bad about him."
Matip himself said: “It has been eight wonderful years here in Liverpool. I was allowed to be part of an exciting history with a great coach and an astonishing team in an extraordinary club. We have achieved great titles and have the best fans in the world."