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Liverpool are targeting a deal for Schalke defender Joel Matip – but any potential move would not be completed until next summer.

The Cameroon international is out of contract at the German club at the end of this season, and is able to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club from January 1. Liverpool are hopeful of securing his signature, though the 24-year-old is wanted by a host of sides from across Europe. Both Newcastle and Sunderland have been credited with an interest.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is an admirer of the player, who he knows well from his time in the Bundesliga. Matip, who has made more than 200 appearances for Schalke, can play as a defensive midfielder as well as a centre back, and is seen as a long-term replacement for Kolo Toure, who is expected to leave Anfield on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The ECHO revealed on Monday that Liverpool are already closing in on the signing of Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic, having agreed a five-year contract with the 19-year-old.

Grujic, of Red Star Belgrade, will cost £5million, but will be loaned back to Red Star for the remainder of this campaign before moving to Merseyside in the summer.

The deals, though, show Klopp is already making significant plans for next season.

It is not anticipated that there will be major transfer activity at Anfield in January, despite a series of underwhelming performances and results of late. Klopp has repeatedly spoken of his desire to give the current Reds squad a chance to prove themselves, while the January window remains one in which clubs believe value is hard to find.

Liverpool expect to find out the extent of Martin Skrtel's hamstring injury today, after the defender undergoes a scan at Melwood. The fear is that the Slovakian, forced off during the defeat at Watford on Sunday, may face at least two weeks on the sidelines, which would rule him out for the entire festive period.