Soccer-Gomez enjoying first team football at Liverpool

Aug 21 (Reuters) - New Liverpool recruit Joe Gomez is enjoying life in the first team after the 18-year-old forced his way into the side as a surprise starter in the Merseyside club's opening two Premier League fixtures. Gomez agreed a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee when he joined Liverpool from Charlton Athletic in June and although he is primarily regarded as a central defender, he has played as a left-back in the 1-0 wins over Stoke City and Bournemouth. The Englishman admitted he did not expect to make an instant impact at the club, even thinking he could be sent out on loan, but a strong pre-season tour appears to have convinced manager Brendan Rodgers to promote him straight into the first team. "To be fair, it probably hasn't really sunk in yet. I think it will over time, but at the moment I'm just trying to keep going and keep working," Gomez told the club website (www.liverpoolfc.com). "It's definitely been far more than I expected, to come in and play the first two games. I knew there was a possibility of me going out on loan, but this was the aim... to try to get into the team. Gomez, however, is refusing to get too complacent, insisting there is still a long way to go in the season. "It's early doors and only two games into a long season, so I know there's still a lot of hard work to be done. I have to keep working hard to try to stay in the team," the England under-19 international added. Liverpool's next fixture is a tough trip to North London on Monday for a high-profile fixture against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, a venue where they lost 4-1 last season. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)