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“I’ve got to wait for my opportunity” – Liverpool star is concentrating only on season ahead for Reds

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By Thomas Hein

Joel Matip Liverpool

Liverpool defender Joel Matip has insisted he is not looking for a move away from the club despite falling down the pecking order at Anfield.

The Cameroonian has seen Jurgen Klopp prefer Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk as the first choice centre-back partnership with Dejan Lovren covering the duo this season.

Matip, however, told the Evening Standard (h/t Mirror) that he was just waiting for his opportunity to come:

“I only concentrate now on the season on Liverpool and there’s nothing else in my mind. Everything else would only distract me.

“I’ve got to wait for my opportunity, I have to work hard – this is the life of a player.

“I try to be in the best form I can be and to be ready if I had to be.”

Joel Matip of Liverpool
Joel Matip training

The 27-year-old has just three starts to his name this season for the Red with his last 90 coming in our disastrous 2-0 loss against Red Star Belgrade.

The former Schalke man might not start for us in the derby against Everton, and he added that the game would not be easy.

“You see the atmosphere and then you know that the next 90 minutes it will be [difficult]. Every game is a fight but this will be a massive fight.”

The 27-year-old is a decent back-up to have for the Reds, and he might get a few more games later in the season.

Read more: Liverpool legend catches hold of key first-team star and urges him to defeat Everton

The Reds have an incredible defensive pairing of Van Dijk and Gomez in the middle, and it is tough seeing anyone else start for the Reds apart from them.