Schalke youngster Joel Matip has signed a new deal with the club, brushing aside speculation that he will leave in the summer.
Die Knappen have had successful negotiations with youngster Joel Matip and the player has signed an extension to his current deal, which was set to end in the year 2013. The defender had joined Schalke from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/VfL-Bochum-c40880 in 2000 and
has graduated from the club’s youth academy.
The Cameroonian international’s future had been under widespread speculation and it was rumoured that he will be leaving for a bigger club in the coming transfer window. There was reported interest from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863 and
Werder Bremen.
Schalke Sporting Director Horst Heldt expressed his delight on securing the deal for the player and stated that the club is willing to keep all its key players. He insisted that Joel Matip has been with Die Knappen for a long-time
now and has developed into a great talent in the past few years.
"We're absolutely delighted. Despite still being young Joel is a player with a long Schalke history,” he was quoted as saying in an interview.
The chief added that Matip is a very important part of the team now and his performances for the first team in the last two seasons shows how vital he can be in the title race this season. He also expressed his pleasure on the
negotiations being completed in a quick and swift manner.
“He's a very, very valuable player for us. I'm delighted that the talks were completed so quickly and that Joel has extended his contract early with total conviction,” he concluded.
Schalke have had a brilliant start to the season this term and are currently third on the Bundesliga standings table with 34 points from the 17 games played. The side is only three points behind leaders Bayern Munich and only lags
behind Borussia Dortmund on goal difference.
Huub Stevens’ side will next face a tough task of facing http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Royal-95-c40387 Blues lost the corresponding fixture
3-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in August last year.
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