Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez changes shirt number ahead of the new season
According to the club’s official website, Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez will don the No. 2 jersey instead of the No.12 he has worn since joining the club.
The English defender will personally compensate supporters who have already purchased a 2022-23 replica shirt through official club stores by exchanging them for a “Gomez 2” jersey on a like-for-like basis.
This would be the start of another fresh journey for the 25-year-old England international after he had signed a five-year contract with the Reds a few weeks back.
Gomez joined Liverpool in June 2015 after leaving Charlton Athletic, and he has since helped the Reds win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
The defender, who can play as a full-back or centre-back, has unfortunately suffered from injuries during his tenure on Merseyside, twice injuring his anterior cruciate ligament.
Gomez has thus appeared in 142 games all over the course of seven years, but despite being fit, he only played 21 games for Jurgen Klopp’s team last season. The versatile defender has 11 international caps to his name and would hope to make Gareth Southgate’s team for the World Cup in Qatar this winter.
There was widespread speculation that the centre-back would request to leave Anfield this summer after falling further down Jurgen Klopp’s defensive hierarchy after Ibrahima Konate’s debut last season.
Klopp, however, would have wanted Gomez to stay and believes that he would have enough opportunities in a Liverpool defence that was consistently tested last season as they pursued a quadruple.
Joe Gomez has been a Liverpool player for the past seven years and is the player with the second-longest tenure among active players at the club, only behind the captain, Jordan Henderson.
But being just 25-year-old, Jurgen Klopp would believe that the English defender still has room for growth and Gomez himself would be looking forward to pairing with Virgil van Dijk for a spot at the centre of the Reds’ defence in the upcoming campaign.
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The English defender would be willing to take up the challenge of competing for a spot on the first team if he can stay injury-free next season. The No.2 jersey is not particularly a successful one for Liverpool in the PL era. Hopefully, Gomez will be the first to change its fortunes.
