‘Best club in the world’: Joe Gomez happy to have stayed at Liverpool

Joe Gomez says he is “blessed” to be at Liverpool after a summer in which the prospect of leaving was real. The England defender, who made his first Champions League start of the season at Girona on Tuesday, admits it has been difficult to sit out but he is relishing the chance to play after an injury to Ibrahima Konaté. “I love the club, I love being here,” he said.

A deal had been in place for Gomez to join Newcastle for £45m with Anthony Gordon going in the other direction for £75m but the sales of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to Nottingham Forest and Brighton respectively allowed Newcastle to meet profit and sustainability targets. That left Gomez at Anfield, where he is the longest-serving player, but behind Virgil van Dijk and Konaté. He did not start a Premier League game until the win over Manchester City at the start of this month.

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Asked if he was happy with the way things worked out, Gomez replied: “Yes. 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.

“[Leaving] was definitely for real. My focus was always on the club. 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. It’s football. To be somewhere 10 years and not have any blips would not be natural.”

Until the City game Gomez had made three appearances as a substitute in 12 league games, one of them at full-back, playing one, nine and 45 minutes. His starts had been limited to two Carabao Cup games. In Europe, he had come off the bench against Milan, RB Leipzig and Real Madrid until the 1-0 win at Girona.

“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,” Gomez said. “But I can only control what I can focus on, and that is being the best professional I can be.”

Against Girona, there was another clean sheet and almost a first goal for Liverpool, Girona’s goalkeeper, Paulo Gazzaniga, pushing away an early header. “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 now,” he reasoned. Does he have a celebration planned for when it finally happens? “I can’t say I have,” Gomez replied.