Since breaking into the Liverpool team, Joe Gomez has continued to develop at a fairly rapid pace and the defender appears to be growing in stature with every passing game. He has clearly benefited from playing alongside Virgil Van Dijk in the heart of the reds back-line and the club appear to have a future England international on their hands. Gomez is likely to feature heavily in Gareth Southgate’s future plans and appears to have all of the attributes to excel at future tournaments.
Gomez is just 21 years old but he is already a Premier League regular and has amassed over 650 top-flight minutes this season. He’s also featured regularly in the UEFA Champions League and hasn’t looked out of place against both Napoli and PSG. He’s been praised by team-mate Trent Alexander Arnold who labelled him “…one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League” and he put in arguably his best performance of the season against Manchester City on October 7th. The Reds have conceded just three times this campaign and remain unbeaten after eight games with Gomez playing a significant role in preserving their unblemished start. He’s called on his side to be “relentless” this season in their quest for silverware and has urged his team-mates to maintain their intensity throughout the campaign.
After a stop-start 2017-18 season which saw his progress disrupted by injury, Gomez appears hungry for success and is determined to prove his doubters wrong. Unlike previous Liverpool centre-backs, Gomez’s concentration is one of his biggest assets and his ability to read the game has also improved over the past twelve months. He’s also not afraid to bring the ball out from the back and distribute it effectively. All of these skills make him ideal for international football. Friendlies and games in the UEFA Nations League can often be played at a more ponderous pace and Gomez’s poise and sense of positioning make him the perfect partner for either Leicester’s Harry Maguire or Manchester City’s John Stones.
Southgate’s preferred system is playing three at the back and that could open the door for Gomez to feature on a regular basis. He is likely to play in the Nations League this year and with another international break scheduled for mid-November, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him nail down a place in the England starting XI off the back of those games. England will face Croatia at Wembley on November 11th and will be hoping to finish above the World Cup 2018 finalists in Group 4 of League A. The Three Lions are currently 5/1 in the international football betting to finish top of their section although Spain look resurgent under new manager Luis Enrique and can be backed at 1/5.
Virgil Van Dijk’s presence has coincided with an upturn in form and the Reds have kept five clean sheets already this season. They also managed six shutouts in their last nine games of the 2017-18 campaign and the Dutchman’s steady presence has also helped Gomez’s game. Some pundits have described the 21-year-old as a “mini Virgil” and the pair have certainly formed a rock-solid partnership.
He is still developing his game and there is undoubtedly plenty more to come from Joe Gomez but he’s enjoying a standout 2018 and it surely won’t be long until he becomes one of the first names on the England team-sheet for all future international fixtures.
