Jose Mourinho wants 31-year-old Liverpool star at AS Roma

AS Roma are eyeing a move for Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip this summer

According to Forza Roma (h/t Liverpool Echo

), AS Roma and their manager Jose Mourinho would be interested to sign Joel Matip in the coming summer window.

Matip’s contract at Liverpool expires next summer (Transfermarkt). It is up to the Reds now to decide whether to sell him now or allow him to go for free after the end of next season.

The former Cameroon international is now 31 years old, hence a contract extension may not be the most sensible thing to do, given his injury record in the last few years.

Matip’s skillsets interest Mourinho and he would like to add the player to his Roma squad. The report says that AC Milan and Juventus are also interested in him.

Since arriving for free from Schalke in 2016, Matip has been one of the stalwarts of Liverpool. Although injuries have pegged his progress back many times, he has always remained one of the key defenders in the setup.

It was he and Virgil van Dijk forging an immaculate partnership in the second half of the 2018/19 season that saw the Reds get 97 points in the league and lift the Champions League.

That partnership did well in the first half of the title-winning 2019/20 until the Cameroonian got injured and Joe Gomez took over that spot.

A few days ago, Melissa Reddy of Sky Sports revealed that Liverpool would be looking to make a defensive reinforcement this summer. If that was to signal that Matip could be sold, it would be the right decision.

More Liverpool News:

• Championship winners Burnley are interested in signing James Milner for free
• Chelsea are planning a shock move for former Liverpool superstar Sadio Mane
• Liverpool could sign up to five players in the summer including a new defender

The time is there for Jurgen Klopp and his staff to get a young right-sided defender in and groom him to work alongside the likes of Ibrahima Konate and Van Dijk.