Liverpool suffered an unprecedented injury crisis at centre-back last season, with their form plummeting after the loss of Joe Gomez. Thankfully, Virgil van Dijk seems to have made a full recovery. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Gomez. The south London stopper has not started a single Premier League game this season, with his last appearance coming against Preston North End in October.
Reports have emerged in a UK national newspaper that former Reds captain and new Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard is planning to sign Gomez, either on loan or permanently in the January transfer window.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight Show, we asked Goal’s Neil Jones if there was any truth to the rumour that Gomez could be set for a move to the Midlands.
Neil said:
“I would be astonished if Liverpool were to do that. I don’t see it making any sense for Liverpool at this moment, maybe for Joe to go and play a few games. He has had some bad injuries; he’s had a career’s worth of injuries by the time he was 24. Let’s be fair, he was instrumental in Liverpool winning the title. He played 30 odd games that season. I don’t see a situation mid-season where Liverpool think, ‘We can do without Joe Gomez’, especially not loaning him to a Premier League club.”
Redmen Reacts:
Joe has found game time difficult to come by after the addition of Ibrahima Kounate and the return to fitness of Joel Matip, so a link away from Liverpool is not tremendously surprising. On his day, Joe is certainly one of the best centre halves in the league, and has played alongside Virgil van Dijk in some of the biggest games in club football.
Joe could certainly do with some games now he is coming back from injury, but he should get the chance to play them in a red shirt. The Christmas period is the busiest of the year, so there is every chance Liverpool could pick up an injury or two in defensive areas. When all fit, Liverpool possess possibly the strongest team of four centre backs in the league, so it would seem odd for the management to want to break that up by sending Gomez elsewhere. At 24, Joe could still have another eight to ten years of high-level football in him. With Virgil and Joel Matip having both turned 30, it could prove invaluable to have a player of great experience like Gomez coming into his prime. Let us hope his worst injuries are behind him.
