Joel Matip Player Thread (D)

I absolutely love his passing, not so much the range or precision (not calling him Xabi yet) but the conviction. He absolutely leathers the ball and trusts whoever is receiving to control it.

He's certainly a confident fellow....and that rubs off on his teammates.

but I can't think of any in the EPL that I'd swap him for right now.

Really? I think think of one, no 2 straight away...David Luiz or Gary Cahill. Now they are both a formidable unit that any team would be lucky to have!

Wait, no, I mean any team would be lucky to NOT have.

Nice to be able to relax when he brings the ball out from the back. I know Sakho usually made it work in the end, but his brand of releasing the ball last second really got my heart racing.

Matip nice and composed, wins the tackle, passes it on and away we go. Much less stressful. I hope he stays fit and that him and Lovren form a good partnership for the season now.

Looks a threat off corners too, although should have done better with a couple of free headers this season.

He's like Sami Hyypia and Lucas Leiva combined.

Schalke have lost their first five games in the Bundesliga. Coincidence? (Probably, but what the hell, let's run with it )

Rolls Royce

Calm composed and assured for the most part, even the mancs are  watching him take to the league like duck to water in envy.

What a player, pure class.

Not felt this confident about a CB since Hyypia and Carra

What a player, pure class.

That pretty much sums him up. He can more than handle himself, he can run with the ball, his passing is really good and he cost absolutely F**k all. Keep it up big man!

Nit picking but again he let his man go with a cross coming in to the box (for the Ibra chance). Did it against Swansea a few times and Borja should've scored more than once.

Do they not cross in the Bundesliga? He and Karius have struggled

To imagine we got him on a free, must be the bargain of the century this lad.

Has been the best CB in the country so far.

What a F***ing header !

To imagine we got him on a free, must be the bargain of the century this lad.

Has been the best CB in the country so far.

Yeah, he is a F***ing beast!!  He eats Bailly and shits out Stones!!   

Loving Barack Obama so far!

Hes a monster - he is the tower of power we have missed since Hyppia.

To imagine we got him on a free, must be the bargain of the century this lad.

Has been the best CB in the country so far.

Yeah but he is on top whack wages to compensate for that. I do like him though.

Yeah but he is on top whack wages to compensate for that. I do like him though.

Really..........what do you reckon he is on?

Really..........what do you reckon he is on?

Just did a little online search after reading the same post, some say £70k others £100k.  Not exactly outrageous considering some of the figures you see bandied around these days.

Just did a little online search after reading the same post, some say £70k others £100k.  Not exactly outrageous considering some of the figures you see bandied around these days.

Especially when you consider we got him for 'free' (god knows what agent fees and signing on bonuses were involved).

An outstanding signing of absolute pure quality. As other's have mentioned elsewhere it's the first time I've been so confident aerially since Sami and his composure on the ball and in shepherding players is sublime, brilliant craftsman at his trade in my opinion.

Especially when you consider we got him for 'free' (god knows what agent fees and signing on bonuses were involved).

An outstanding signing of absolute pure quality. As other's have mentioned elsewhere it's the first time I've been so confident aerially since Sami and his composure on the ball and in shepherding players is sublime, brilliant craftsman at his trade in my opinion.

I've never seen a defender with the technique and skill that Joel has. He really is outstanding.

Especially when you consider we got him for 'free' (god knows what agent fees and signing on bonuses were involved).

An outstanding signing of absolute pure quality. As other's have mentioned elsewhere it's the first time I've been so confident aerially since Sami and his composure on the ball and in shepherding players is sublime, brilliant craftsman at his trade in my opinion.

£3.6m signing on bonus.  Again not exactly outrageous mate.

70-100k. Considering he arrived on a free and given the crazy money the average run of the mill player is on these days, his wage is a bargain too.

Lets put this into perspective John Stones.