‘Got it all’: Daniel Sturridge names the ‘world class’ Liverpool rising star who wowed him in training

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Liverpool defender Joe Gomez has been tipped by Daniel Sturridge to become one of the world’s top defenders, admitting he was wowed by the 23-year-old in training when both were at Anfield.

Gomez joined Liverpool in 2015 under Brendan Rodgers’ watch and has developed into a superb player over the past few years.

To date, the centre-back – who also played at full-back during his early days at Anfield – has made 121 competitive appearances for the Reds.

Sturridge, meanwhile, was at Liverpool between 2013 and 2019, and in conversation with the Beautiful Game podcast, spoke of how Gomez is “next in line” amid the likes of Virgil van Dijk, John Terry and Vincent Kompany.

“I speak to Joey G, he’s going through an injury right now, and I’ll be like don’t lose the faith. You’re a world-class player,” said Sturridge.

“Training against Joe Gomez when I was at Liverpool, I was thinking ‘ok, ok’, you know what I’m saying.

“I’m trying to twist you up, alright cool, you’re strong, alright cool yeah, you’re fast yeah, you’re not afraid to be dirty, you’ve got it all.

“You look at him and you think yeah he’s next. He’s going to be in that class you can see it, he’s going to be in that class down the line.”

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Virgil van Dijk may have got the lion’s share of attention as far as Liverpool centre-backs go, and at times it feels as though Gomez is somewhat underrated outside of Liverpool, but you can’t forget he’s still only 23 and has made over 100 appearances for the Reds, not to mention winning a multitude of trophies.

For Sturridge, a top striker in his heyday whose career has sadly been blighted by injuries, to praise Gomez so highly is testament to the young defender’s qualities and attitude, and as such, once he’s back from injury, it’s surely just a matter of time before he’s rightly being recognised as one of the world’s best defenders.