Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool have a player whose 'quality is incredible' despite not even playing
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been speaking to the press ahead of this weekend’s clash with Brighton and has commented on the situation surrounding Joe Gomez at the moment.
The defender is out of the picture somewhat at the moment. Joel Matip has been playing in the Premier League mainly, while Ibrahima Konate stepped in last weekend against Manchester United.
So far, Gomez has played just 13 minutes in the Premier League. He has started both EFL Cup games, and put in a fine performance as the Reds saw off Preston in midweek.
And speaking in his pre-match press conference today, Klopp confirmed that he needs Gomez to be ready when he’s needed, insisting he is a player of high quality.
“We had to react in our situation and bring in a CB – everyone agreed on that. Nat Phillips is a top-class CB and he isn’t playing as well. Joey didn’t play much but we decided for Joel which made sense,” Klopp said.
“We have to deal with him with the intensity, we’re not even halfway through the season yet. Hopefully there are no injuries but that’s a footballer’s life. All 5 CBs get on really well. We will need them and Joe’s quality is incredible. We have top class players in this position. The only thing you can do is keep working really, really hard and your moment will come.”
Gomez signed for Liverpool back in 2015 for a bargain fee of £3.5m. Since then, he’s made 81 Premier League appearances for the Reds.
TBR’s View: Joe Gomez has quality but might need to leave Liverpool
The issue for Gomez is he is already at least fourth choice with Liverpool.
A player of his calibre, and age, will want to be playing every week. Indeed, reports this week have already claimed that Gomez is becoming frustrated with his lack of minutes this term.
Most Premier League clubs would probably snap Liverpool’s hands off if Gomez did become available. He’s a quality operator, and was part of a Premier League winning team. Klopp is right about being patient.
But Gomez might want more than a bit part this season.
