Despite missing key players in their touring party, Liverpool enjoyed a successful preparation for the new season under Arne Slot with three victories on their US tour.
The Reds rounded off the trip with a convincing 3-0 win over rivals Manchester United in South Carolina. Players linked with an Anfield exit performed well across the three games, including Fabio Carvalho, who opened the scoring against Eric ten Hag’s side.
One man who was not widely expected to be leaving the club at the start of the transfer window is Joe Gomez. However, his future was thrown into doubt last week after it was revealed that talks had taken place with Newcastle United over a £45 million move, with Antony Gordon heavily linked with a switch in the opposite direction.
Since the story broke, Gomez appears to have cooled suggestions that his time at Liverpool is coming to an end by posting a photo from the AXA Training Centre with the caption ‘Szn 10’.
The Magpies appear to be close to sealing a deal for Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guéhi, which would perhaps suggest their interest in LFC’s longest-serving player has come to an end.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight show, we asked the Liverpool Echo’s LFC correspondent Paul Gorst for his thoughts on the Gomez story.
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David said:
“It was something that we asked Slot about, actually, after the United game. A few of us had a chance to have a few minutes with him.
“He didn’t seem too concerned about the issue around Joe Gomez. He’s a low-maintenance player, Joe Gomez, someone who doesn’t particularly look to rock the boat.
“I don’t think it’s something where he’s going to throw his toys out the pram. So, yeah, a really professional player, looking to come into, like you say, his tenth season.
“It was a subtle little nod, that, wasn’t it, on the socials… Just a little nod that this is his tenth season at Liverpool now.
“He’s going to be playing X amount of games, and I imagine quite a few of them will be at centre-back, with Joel Matip not there any longer.
“The interest is still there, we believe, so it will be intriguing to see what happens in the next two or three weeks. You can’t really second guess what happens in the last five days of the window, but you can across the Premier League.
“It seems to get a bit panicky and fidgety, and things happen, so we’ll see what happens with that, but it’s heartening to hear that Joe Gomez is planning for the future at Liverpool.”
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After an injury-hit few years in which Joe struggled to find form, he played a vital role in Liverpool’s title bid last season, playing in a variety of positions across the back four and even making the odd appearance in a defensive midfield role, an ability that led to praise for the ‘versatile’ qualities from Jurgen Klopp. The 27-year-old still sees himself as a centre-back, so it is perhaps unsurprising that a move away from Anfield was on the table if he was guaranteed a starting slot at the heart of Eddie Howe’s defence. The fee would have also gone some way to reducing the outlay on potential transfer target Anthony Gordon, but with Newcastle now free from the PSR obligations that threatened them towards the end of June, a move now seems unlikely. It is still unclear as to whether or not LFC’s transfer committee are targeting a defender – if not, then there will be opportunities for Gomez to continue his good form from last season which saw him receive a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s Euros squad. Joe seems to have not taken the possible transfer personally and looks to be knuckling down ahead of an exciting period under Arne Slot.
