Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that Joe Gomez needs to leave Liverpool in order for him to start playing regular football.
The 24-year-old has made just 13 appearances for the Reds this season and has found himself behind Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate in the pecking order for a starting spot alongside Virgil van Dijk.
“I feel like Gomez needs to leave right now,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider.
“Trent Alexander-Arnold rarely misses games so he’s not going to get in at right-back. At centre-back, you’ve got Konate, Van Dijk and Matip all in front of him.
“He needs to go now and play some regular football.
“We’ve seen players like Tomori go to AC Milan and start again. Gomez could easily do something similar and join a Euro giant.
“I’m sure he’ll have aspirations of going to the World Cup so he will want to play some football because otherwise he’s got no chance.”
Unless we suffer another defensive injury crisis like we did last season, it’s unlikely that our No. 12 is going to receive much game time during the run-in.
You’d expect him to earn some minutes in the FA Cup when Norwich visit Anfield on March 2 but other than that it’s clear that Jurgen Klopp has his preferred options at centre half.
One part of the former Charlton man’s game that does benefit the side, however, is his versatility.
He did deputise for Trent Alexander Arnold at right-back in the recent league fixture against the Canaries and with Neco Williams currently out on loan at Fulham – he is probably our first choice replacement for Trent at the moment.
During the 2019/20 season, Gomez was a huge part of Klopp’s side that won the Premier League title and made 28 appearances for the club across all competitions.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see Gomez, who has 11 England caps to his name, leave the club in the summer with reports suggesting that Steven Gerrard is eyeing a move for him.
He’s 24, and two of the three players mentioned ahead of him are hitting their prime at 30. He’s playing for one of the best teams in the world, and whilst perhaps not playing as often as he’d probably like, is contributing to winning trophies at the highest levels. He’s had a couple of horrendous injuries too. How’s about maybe we have a bit of goddamn patience and let the lad prove his performances and mental fortitude are worthy of regaining a starting birth instead of gossiping about shipping him out of the club? Especially when we’re finally building a squad that offers us the strength in depth that our rivals have often lorded over us?