Liverpool’s squad has returned to pre-season training this week, and one particular player has caught Jürgen Klopp’s eye.
The Reds are looking to bounce back from an anticlimactic end to what was an incredible season last time out.
They have responded with the additions of Darwin Núñez, Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho.
The Reds have also renewed the deals of Mohamed Salah and Joe Gomez.
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And it is the latter with whom Klopp was particularly impressed when he returned to the AXA training centre this week.
“In terms of right now, Joe is in phenomenal shape. We had a few weeks off and when I returned to AXA I saw him and my first thought was ‘Wow!’” the former Borussia Dortmund boss told the club’s official website.
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“Physically, he is in such a good place and now all he needs is a good pre-season and the rhythm that comes from this.”
Gomez has had an inconsistent time of things since arriving at Anfield from Charlton Athletic in 2015, primarily down to three separate long-term injuries sustained throughout his career.
Arriving as a left-back, he began the 2015/16 season well under then-manager Brendan Rodgers, before suffering an ACL injury on England Under-21 duty just five days after Klopp’s appointment.
A return late in the 2016/17 season saw Gomez feature at right-back, which he continued to do in the next campaign in rotation with Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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More injuries followed after a tough challenge from Ben Mee, but he did appear as a substitute in Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League win over Tottenham in Madrid.
Since then he has picked up the Premier League, Club World Cup, European Super Cup and both domestic cups.
He even captained the Reds in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup last campaign.
With a new five-year deal signed, Gomez will have a view to being more regularly selected this campaign - but the stiff competition of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate is going to be tough to shift.
Topics: Joe Gomez, Liverpool, Premier League
Chris Stonadge