Joel Matip to Liverpool: Who is the Schalke defender set for Anfield transfer?

The Cameroon international is set to join in the summer

Joel Matip (GETTY IMAGES)

Joel Matip will join Liverpool this summer, it's been confirmed.

The Schalke defender has been linked with a move to Anfield for some time but now an agreement has been reached that will see the player move to Merseyside when his contract expires at his current club at the end of the season.

Reports suggest it will be a four-year deal on which he signs.

So have Liverpool pulled off a scalp by signing Matip? We take a closer look at the defender...

The 24-year-old plays as a central defender for Schalke, usually lining up on the right side of a centre-back pairing.

At 6ft 3in Matip is a commanding presence at the back, however he has the ability to play in defensive midfield when called upon. Statistics show he has a pass success rate of above 90 per cent in the three Champions League games he has played this season. He also has an eye for goal, netting three times in 21 Bundesliga appearances and once in the Champions League.

Matip's greatest strength however is without the ball. His tackling, concentration and ball interception ability are considered among the strongest attributes of the Schalke youth product.

Wearing the number 32 shirt (a number he may need to change with Cameron Brannagan currently occupying it at Liverpool) Matip has helped Schalke up to fifth in the Bundesliga this season, just two points behind third place.

German-born, Matip plays at international level for Cameroon, with whom he has 27 caps and one goal, scored against Brazil at the 2014 World Cup.

He made his Bundesliga debut at the age of 18, playing as a midfielder and scoring in a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in November 2009, and has over 200 senior club appearances to his name.