Jay Spearing has heaped praise on one Liverpool player who he labelled as an ‘unsung hero’ in Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
The 35-year-old was speaking on the club’s official podcast when he voiced his admiration for Joe Gomez, who was deployed in an unfamiliar defensive midfield role for the Reds’ 3-0 win over Southampton on Wednesday night.
The LFC under-18s coach said of the Londoner: “For me, I think he’s been Liverpool’s unsung hero all year. I think he’s been absolutely outrageously good. he’s been incredible. He adjusted to left-back, centre-back, right-back as a six tonight and he’s took everything in his stride.
“You never hear about Joe Gomez moaning. You never hear about Joe Gomez like being a bad egg or anything like that. For me, he just seems to be the ultimate professional. He wants to play for Liverpool. He loves playing for Liverpool.”
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Following on from Klopp himself saying that Gomez has ‘saved our lives’ about ’20 times’ this season due to his remarkable versatility and consistency, it’s also delightful to hear Spearing praise the £85,000-per-week defender so highly, especially when other Liverpool players tend to grab the headlines more frequently.
Having joined the Reds as a teenager in 2015, the last survivor of the Brendan Rodgers era is now an experienced stalwart whose guiding hand would’ve been greatly appreciated by youngsters like Bobby Clark and James McConnell, who played just ahead of him in our midfield last night.
In a season overshadowed by injuries to the majority of our squad at various intervals, it’s most welcome to see our number 2 – who’s had horrendous luck in that regard over the past few years – remain consistently available to ably carry out whatever task the manager asks of him from one match to the next.
Gomez has strong echoes of James Milner not just for his positional flexibility, but also his tremendous attitude and his willingness to slot in wherever he’s needed with a minimum of fuss.
That first goal remains notoriously elusive after 209 appearances for Liverpool, but the 26-year-old deserves every bit of praise coming his way for his understated importance to the team during the current campaign. Whatever silverware we go on to lift this year, he’ll have been crucial to it.