Joel Matip admits he's happy and settled at Liverpool.

The defender has been linked with a return to Schalke next year.

But he told Sky Deutschland: "Of course, Schalke was my youth club - as a Schalke fan it was an absolute honour to play there. I had the opportunity to do that for a long time and here in Liverpool, with these absolute top conditions, you don't just walk away.

"In addition, I also feel incredibly comfortable here in my private life. I think it's desirable not to change clubs all the time. But everyone has to decide for themselves. In any case, I find consistency helpful.

"I'm at an age where I don't think so much about the future anymore. I try to make the most of every day and don't look too far ahead. If it was only these two clubs in the end, I would be perfectly happy. But in football, you never know exactly.

"We are still at the beginning of the season. Of course, we are glad that the results are right. The quality that the new players have brought directly into the team is impressive. Now we are trying to work together to ensure that we can be successful in the long run.

"There is always a lot of investment in the Premier League - so you can't make any predictions. But we also have enormous quality and give everything in every game.

"You never know what the end result will be. For now, we're just looking at ourselves and trying to win every game. If this succeeds often, the season should have a successful ending."