‘Life-saver’… Jurgen Klopp says people forget how important £3.5m player is for Liverpool

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has branded Joe Gomez as a ‘life-saver’ while hailing his performances recently.

The Reds sealed their place in the final of the Carabao Cup last night with a 3-2 aggregate win over Fulham. Gomez started the game at left-back, and he was very good once again for Liverpool.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says Joe Gomez is a ‘life-saver’

Liverpool signed Joe Gomez from Charlton back in 2015 for just £3.5 million (BBC).

The Englishman played a massive part in helping the Reds win the Premier League and the Champions League a few years ago, but his future seemed to be up in the air soon after.

However, Liverpool kept hold of Gomez, gave him a new contract, and they’re now reaping the rewards of having him in their side.

Gomez has filled in at both full-back positions over the last few months, and he has been exceptional. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is really pleased with his performances, so much so that he branded the defender as a ‘life-saver’.

He further claimed that people forget how important Gomez has been for the Reds over the years.

Klopp said, as per Liverpool’s official website: “Without Joe nothing would’ve happened in the last pretty much 13 [or] 14 weeks since Robbo [Andy Robertson] is out.

“Yes, because he could play there, but the things we could do with Trent [Alexander-Arnold] when we brought Joey on, I don’t exactly [know] how many games [he] played now this year, but I would say 20-something already. Not only games, [he] played exceptional today again.

“He’s a real defender and he comes inside. He’s doing that really well. He tried a couple of times obviously to finish the discussion about not scoring. I would say for my taste from a bit too far but it’s still alright.

“He is a life-saver, to be honest, that he was here, that he could play, and people forget how important Joey was in the best years we had.

“I don’t know how many games he played in the year when we became champions and how many games he played when we won the Champions League. A lot and rightly so because he’s a top-class player.”

Gomez has been outstanding for Liverpool this season

Nobody really expected Joe Gomez to play a lot of football when the season started, but the Englishman has made 29 appearances already.

The 26-year-old has filled in for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, Andy Robertson at left-back, and has stepped in at centre-half as well. He has been fantastic in every one of those positions.

Jurgen Klopp is right, Gomez has been Liverpool’s life-saver this season. The Reds would’ve really struggled if he was unavailable over the last few months.

It will be interesting to see how much Gomez will play in the coming weeks as Robertson is back now and Alexander-Arnold is expected to return very soon as well.