Joe Gomez’ short-term Liverpool future is up for urgent consideration after a frustrating first half of the season. FSG may need to make a big transfer call.
It would be fair to say that Joe Gomez is perhaps one of the unluckiest footballers in the modern age.
The defender has been at Liverpool for just over six years and has only managed 131 appearances in all competitions for the Reds. Still at the tender age of of 24, Gomez has had enough injuries to last a career, or perhaps even two.
This season, though, has undoubtedly been Gomez’ toughest at Anfield, with the arrival of Ibrahima Konaté and the resurgence of Joel Matip combining to lower the former Charlton man’s place to fourth in Jürgen Klopp’s centre-half pecking order.
After enduring another lengthy spell on the sidelines last season, following ligament injury sustained while on international duty in November, it brought his tally of Liverpool games missed through England injuries up to an eye-watering 91, in exchange for 11 caps for Gareth Southgate’s side.
Of course, there is certainly no value you could place on something as sentimental as an England appearance, but for Gomez it feels like the cost of his national misfortune has left him fighting for his Anfield future. With January just days away, a big decision looms for FSG.
Earlier this month, a rather heartwarming clip surfaced online of the Liverpool squad videoing into kids spending their Christmas at the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in West Derby and one of the most poignant moments from the encounter — aside from the heartwarming reactions of the children — was Virgil van Dijk spreading his arms either side of Gomez and Konaté and saying: “These two are gonna take my place at some point”.
Realistically that is more than likely going to be the case given that the Dutchman is approaching 31 years of age this summer, but with Gomez struggling to give Klopp food for thought in his handful of appearances during the first half of the season, it bodes the question — how does he progress?
Gomez has only accumulated 426 minutes of action in all competitions so far this term, and going off his performances against Preston and more recently Leicester City in the League Cup, it is no surprise that his manager is hesitant about thrusting him into Premier League action. At this level, the margin for error is increasingly thin — proven by the 12 minutes he has racked up thus far.
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