Joe Gomez has reaffirmed his love for Liverpool following a summertransfer window in which he was nearly sold to Newcastle United.
The defender, who joined the Reds in 2015 and has spent the vast majority of his time at Anfield as a backup option, was part of the negotiations with Newcastle over winger Anthony Gordon. The Reds were expected to sign Gordon for £75m, with Gomez moving to St James' Park for £45m, only for Newcastle to eventually pull the plug once the sales of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh saw them avoid profit and sustainability rules sanctions.
Gomez was left behind Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and even young Jarell Quansah in the pecking order to start the season, but injuries and dips in form have seen him return to Liverpool's starting lineup in recent weeks.
"I love the club, I love being here," Gomez reflected. "It is a pleasure to be part of such a great group and we obviously have such a good foundation to hopefully achieve something this year and that is what you want to be part of. I love being here."
Gomez went on to confess that he came close to leaving for Newcastle in the summer but insisted he was happy to see the move break down.
Joe Gomez, Anthony Gordo
Gomez and Gordon could have swapped sides / ADRIAN DENNIS/GettyImages
"[Leaving] was definitely for real," he explained. "My focus was always on the club. I know how blessed I am to be here and it will be ten 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. It's football. To be somewhere ten years and not have any blips would not be natural.
"It is tricky because you don't know when the chance will come or under what circumstances, what position and so on and so forth. But I can only control what I can focus on, and that is being the best professional I can be."
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