Centre back also admits a mooted summer move to Newcastle was 'very real'
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By LEWIS STEELE
Published: 12:00 EST, 11 December 2024 | Updated: 12:04 EST, 11 December 2024
Now more than ever, it feels like the end is nigh for Liverpool's longest-serving player Joe Gomez.
The end, that is, of a near-decade wait for a goal in a red shirt as the defender reveals the tactical tweak made by Arne Slot that will finally end his scoring duck at the club.
But the end could have come in a more meaningful tone, had things gone more smoothly in the summer. He admits a mooted move to Newcastle was 'very real', with Mail Sport revealing at the time how he nearly left for St James' Park, with Anthony Gordon heading the other way.
'It was definitely for real,' he told reporters in the mixed zone after Liverpool's 1-0 win in Girona on Tuesday night. 'My focus was always on the club but I know how blessed I am to be here – and it will be 10 years in the summer.
'I don't take that for granted. It is the best club in the world in my eyes – and it was quickly a case of adapting and getting into the swing of things. It was good to put it to bed. That is football. I am a big believer in focusing on the present.
'To be somewhere 10 years and not have any blips would not be natural which probably speaks about my ambition.'
The end of Joe Gomez's near-decade wait for a goal in a red shirt seems to be nigh
The defender has revealed the tactical tweak made by Arne Slot that will finally end his scoring duck at the club
A number of clubs in England and abroad were keen in the summer but no move ever materialised
Gomez was open to a move though it is understood he never directly tried to force one through. Likewise, Liverpool were not cajoling him out of the door but would have not stood in his way should he have found a club willing to meet their asking price.
A number of clubs in England and abroad were keen but no move ever materialised. He remained focused on the task at hand with sources at the time stressing how he was still one of the hardest-workers on the training pitch.
But the off-pitch distractions led to Gomez not even travelling to Ipswich for the club's Premier League opener at Portman Road in August, with Jarell Quansah starting alongside captain Virgil van Dijk after a stellar breakthrough campaign and impressive pre-season to back it up.
Now, with Ibrahima Konate waylaid with a knee injury for several weeks, it is not Quansah but Gomez who has stepped up to partner Van Dijk at the back.
His first league start of the campaign saw the pair bully Erling Haaland to allay any fears of rustiness.
Watching Konate forge that formidable duo with Van Dijk, though, was hard for Gomez who must have felt in a state of limbo for the first weeks of the season.
'It is tricky because you don't know when the chance will come or under what circumstances,' he added.
'You don't know what position and so on. But I can only control what I can focus on and that is being the best professional I can be. It is a great club to be at and to see the positives in it. It could be worse!
He nearly left for St James' Park, with Anthony Gordon heading the other way
Off-pitch distractions led to Gomez not even travelling to Ipswich for the club's Premier League opener at Portman Road in August, with Jarell Quansah starting instead
'As a player, you always want to play so you have to just try and be ready. In many ways, I am used to it and have had many ups and downs but you relish playing and having the opportunity to be in the team.'
Gomez signed from Charlton as a fresh-faced teenager and, at the time, Daniel Sturridge used to joke he was his 'little brother'.
Now he is the big brother at Liverpool as their longest-serving player who is influential in a leadership sense and well-liked by everyone in the building.
Former boss Jurgen Klopp put it perfectly in January when he said: 'Without Joey, nothing would have happened. A life saver.'
Klopp's right-hand man Pep Lijnders also said how Gomez, still only 27, was the best progressive passer at the club with a perfect attitude.
And if those statements were not strong enough references, here are the words of Van Dijk who stood by Gomez while he chatted to reporters and added minutes later: 'Obviously I know him very well and it is definitely not easy when you are not playing each and every week.
'But the way he has conducted himself on and off the pitch is an example to so many players – not only young players. It is not easy to do it, he has so much quality and he can play right across the back line. We know each other inside and out. He is needed now.'
He is certainly needed now, with just five defenders fit for four positions this side of Christmas. With Gomez capable of playing at right back, centre half or left back – and even in midfield last season – the terrace chant of 'ain't nobody like Joe Gomez' certainly rings true.
Now, with Ibrahima Konate waylaid with a knee injury for several weeks, it is not Quansah but Gomez who has stepped up
His first league start of the campaign saw the he and Virgil van Dijk bully Erling Haaland to allay any fears of rustiness.
The defender has spent time working on the ball-playing aspect of his game in recent months and now views passing as a 'process', knowing it is not as straightforward as seeing a pass and playing it. He has been working on creating three-versus-two situations all over the pitch.
One cannot talk about Gomez without discussing the elephant in the room, mind. After 235 games in a Liverpool shirt, is it time for a first goal? He enjoys the banter around this from team-mates and others, while fans shout for him to 'shoot' every time he is on the ball.
He might soon take them up on the offer, though he reckons he is closer than ever. Due to redesigned set-pieces from coach Aaron Briggs, Gomez is now in the penalty area for corners and some free-kicks, whereas he was previously left back as the nightwatchman.
'Going up for corners is a big thing. That is one thing that has hindered me this whole time as I was never up… so my odds have been boosted!'
When he finally does find the net, the roar might just lift the roof off at Anfield. But as he said in another mixed zone chat, down at Arsenal in January, he does not have a special celebration planned. 'We'll see how I celebrate. I'll leave taking the shirt off to Mo Salah!'
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