West Ham United warned they risk signing a dud as Joel Matip latest shared
Frank McAvennie has told West Ham to avoid signing former Liverpool defender Joel Matip despite missing out on Mats Hummels.
The 35-year-old German centre-back has now decided to join AS Roma on a free transfer after rejecting offers from the Hammers and Brighton [Calcio Mercato], with Julen Lopetegui keen to bring in a free agent.
With an interest also in free agent Matip, 33, Lopetegui’s side have offered the injury-prone defender a two-year contract ahead of a potential move to the London Stadium [Caught Offside].
Speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone, McAvennie said: “There were two boys linked with West Ham – Joel Matip and Mats Hummels. I would have taken Hummels all day long. He’s a wonderful talent. I think the two that we’ve signed will be the centre-halves for a long time.
“Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo have to learn how to play with each other, though Dinos Mavropanos has been playing recently. They didn’t do too badly against Manchester City but you can’t do anything about someone like Erling Haaland. The guy is a machine.
“But West Ham need to bring another defender in. I wouldn’t go for Matip because he’s injured all the time. Why would you want to put him on our bench or our treatment table? Hummels would have done a really good job for us. Matip is a great player but he’s just never fit.”
West Ham United must avoid Joel Matip signing
Though Lopetegui is desperate to bring in one more defender, this time on a free transfer to join Kilman, Todibo and Mavropanos, it could be a risky choice to sign Matip.
The 33-year-old, who made 201 appearances for Liverpool between 2016 and 2024, spent a considerable amount of time on the treatment table at Anfield.
During his eight seasons with the Reds, Matip suffered four major injuries, missing 37 matches with a cruciate ligament injury, 23 matches with an ankle problem, 19 matches with a knee injury and 11 matches with a hamstring injury [Transfermarkt].
Tim Steidten might be best to take McAvennie’s advice and steer clear of the former Liverpool man.
In other West Ham news, one player travelled with his national team despite injury development.
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