Liverpool might have had a fruitful transfer window, but many were of the opinion that the Reds missed a trick by not going for a centre-back to solve their defensive frailties once and for all. Jurgen Klopp knew that Dejan Lovren would be unavailable for the first few games and Joel Matip’s injury in the preseason added fuel to the notion that Liverpool were a centre back short. However, the first three games would have been a tight slap on the face of the naysayers as Liverpool are yet to concede. The man who stepped up in the absence of Matip and Lovren? The forgotten Joe Gomez.
The defender missed a good chunk of the latter half of the last season due to injuries when the Reds were up and running in the Champions League. That also hampered his chances of being selected for England for the World Cup. However, he has shown why the German manager wasn’t desperate enough to sign another centre-back as many suggested, as he was confident that his young gun would come good when back to full fitness.
Gomez had often been deployed in the right-back role before, but it seems clear that he is more suited to play as a centre back. The emergence of Trent Alexander Arnold has allowed Gomez to go back to his preferred position or we could have still seen Gomez plying down the right-hand side of the defence. His performances against Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion were commendable, and under the guidance of Virgil Van Dijk, the 21-year-old Englishman has held his own at the back.
Even Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his centre-back as he recently stated,”Today was a big test. Brighton thought they could pick on Joe for the long ball, and he did really well. I don’t think he made one foul, won 70/80 per cent of his duels. He is a good footballer, I like him. He has a lot of nice things for a CB.”
Such is the performance from Gomez that many would now question whether the World Cup finalist Dejan Lovren would be able to get his place back in the playing eleven. But that is always a good problem to have as a manager and Klopp would be delighted that his trust in the young player has paid off.
As Klopp mentioned, Gomez is a good footballer and has a lot of nice things for a centre back. He has all the critical facets to his game to play in the heart of the defence. Gomez is no slouch on the pitch as he shown in the game against Crystal Palace where he was up against Wilfried Zaha. His ability to fill the role of a fullback has made him comfortable on the ball, and that allows the team to start and build from the back. Along with that, he reads the game well and has good positional sense. The only thing which was in question was his aerial and physical abilities, but he has shown that he can handle himself now in those two departments as well.
All in all the young defender has been one of the unsung heroes of the first three games, and if he keeps on developing like this, one can see him forge a long-term partnership with the £75m Dutchman at the back.
