Wolves, of course, were in the market for a new centre-back in the summer.
In the end, Gary O’Neil did not get his wish and Wolves are now proceeding with Craig Dawson, Toti Gomes, Santi Bueno and Yerson Mosquera, with youngster Bastien Meupiyou to potentially come into the fold later in the season.
There is scope for Wolves signing a new centre-back and Matip could be a convenient option – and he has one trait that could be ideal.
Joel Matip is solid ball-carrier
Early in the summer, Wolves sold Max Kilman to West Ham United for £40 million.
This was widely regarded as good business by Wolves, considering the club signed him for next to nothing six years prior.
But Kilman did have some very nice traits.
While he was never the most aggressive or dominant of centre-backs, he was certainly cultured. His passing was often imperious, and he could also bring the ball out of defence and attack space quite well.
And that was something Matip was also known for during his time at Liverpool.
His former teammate Virgil van Dijk said of him back in February 2022 (via liverpoolfc.com): “It’s a big quality of him – I wish I had that quality at times!
“He just can go without any fear at all and hope for the best a little bit! But he has that quality. It’s a big strength of him and obviously it’s useful because it drags other players from their position and today obviously the space was there to make that run and finish it off.”
