Liverpool have recently completed deals for teenagers Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay with an eye on the future, and it is the success of players like Joe Gomez that helps justify investing in the best talent around to nurture.
Ironically then, it the latter’s arrival could spell the end of Gomez’s seven-year spell on Merseyside as he stands at a crossroads, mulling over the next step in his career after struggling to nail down a regular first-team place at Anfield.
On this day in 2015, Brendan Rodgers swooped to sign the centre-back who was just 18 at the time for £3.5million. That would prove to be a bargain fee as Gomez has developed into a regular feature in the Liverpool first-team and a fully-fledged England international.
Gomez had burst onto the scene as a teenager after winning the 2014 European Championship in Malta with the England’s Under-17 side. Liverpool had been keeping a close eye on his progress, sending scouts to The Valley to track his development at Charlton, and after watching him break into the first team, the Reds made their move.
While he was signed by Rodgers, it was under Jurgen Klopp that Gomez truly flourished after recovering from a serious ACL and Achilles injuries between 2015 and 2017. He returned to action in 2017-18 to make 31 appearances and demonstrated his adaptability as a right-back or central partner to Virgil van Dijk, earning his status as a key squad member.
But the undeniable fact is that injuries have prevented Gomez from truly elevating himself to becoming undroppable at Anfield. Even when he played alongside Van Dijk, injuries played their part in allowing Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren to deputise, leaving him out in the cold when he tried to fight his way back. In total, he has missed 136 games through injury since signing seven years ago.
Ask Klopp what he thinks of the 25-year-old and the German will undoubtedly wax lyrical about the defender. “He’s an outstanding ball player and he will play a lot of games in his career, he will play here a lot of games, definitely,” he said in May. “This season was tricky for him, but who knows how things can change. He is ready to use the opportunity when he gets it.”
That goes some way to explaining why the club are set to offer the Englishman a new contract, with his current deal set to expire in 2024. But it is difficult to avoid the argument that Gomez may need to look for another club this summer.
Klopp signed Ibrahima Konate for £35m last summer and the Frenchman has proved to be a shrewd addition, while Trent Alexander-Arnold has made the right-back spot his own. Even Gomez’s role as deputy is under threat following the addition of promising full-back Ramsay, with Liverpool running out of space to make for him.
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Gomez made just eight Premier League appearances this season, although he did win a rare start at right-back in the 2-0 win over Watford in place of Alexander-Arnold. Gomez provided the assist for Diogo Jota’s opening goal, and played a key role in helping Liverpool keep their 18th clean sheet of the campaign.
The lack of game time this season has led to speculation that the 11-cap England international could move on in the summer, with Aston Villa one of the clubs entering the race of the defender.
Now 25, a loan move would only be beneficial in terms of boosting his faint World Cup hopes, and it seems a permanent exit is the only way to get his career back on track.
